UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON 
SCHOOLS 


LITERATURE 


IN    THE 


COMMON    SCHOOLS 


BY 


JOHN    HARRINGTON    COX,  A.M. 

Professor  of  English  Philology  in 
West  Virginia  University 


.  8S&  3 


' 

BOSTON 

LITTLE, 

BROWN,  AND 

1908 

COMPANY 

Copyright,  1908, 
By  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 


All  rig/Us  reserved. 


THE   UNIVERSITY    PRESS,    CAMBRIDGE,    II.  S.  A. 


r 
-      *+    - 


To  My  Wife 
ANNIE    BUSH    COX 


i  575 

C-S3 
PREFACE 

This  book  is  the  result  of  five  years'  ex- 
perience with  teachers  in  the  Summer  School 
of  the  West  Virginia  University  and  in 
teachers'  institutes  in  several  States.  It  is 
the  outgrowth  of  practical  work  in  trying 
to  meet  needs  as  they  exist.  It  aims  to 
present  the  subject  in  a  clear,  simple,  and 
logical  way,  and  seeks  to  be  helpful  to  those 
teachers  especially  who  have  not  at  hand 
extended  library  facilities. 

I  am  under  special  obligation  to  Professor 
Walter  Cochran  Bronson,  a  former  teacher 
of  mine.  Many  of  the  ideas  in  the  chapters 
on  "  Form  "  and  "  The  Story  in  the  Upper 
Grades "  were  originally  his,  and  no  doubt 
in  some  cases  the  exact  expressions.  I  am 
also  indebted  to  President  D.  B.  Purinton, 
State  Superintendent  Thomas  C.  Miller,  Dr. 
Waitman  Barbe,  Professor  Robert  A.  Arm- 
strong, and  Professor  J.  N.  Deahl  for  their 


Vlll  PREFACE 

courtesy  in  examining  the  manuscript,  and 
to  Professor  James  M.  Callahan  for  reading 
the  proof.  I  take  this  occasion  also  to  ex- 
press my  thanks  to  the  numerous  publishers 
who  have  so  generously  supplied  me  with 
books  for  examination.  Their  names  appear 
in  the  lists  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Reading 1 

Literature  and  Life     ........  4 

Why  Study  Literature 7 

Criticism 11 

The  Distinguishing  Marks 13 

The  Emotional  Element 19 

Imagination 38 

Thought  . 44 

Form    . 47 

Application  of  Tests 62 

Tributaries  of  the  Literary  Stream  ...  75 

Presentation  in  the  Primary  Grades      ,     .  89 

The  Story  in  the  Upper  Grades    ....  96 

A  Model  Lesson 112 

Course  of  Study 128 

Extended   List  for    Substitution,  Leisure 

Hours,  and  Home  Reading 176 

Bibliography 197 

For  Teachers 213 

List  of  Publishers 214 

Index  of  Titles  and  Authors 217 


LITERATURE 

IN    THE 

COMMON    SCHOOLS 


READING 

;85b3  .      . 

TT  is  generally  conceded  that  reading  is  the 

most  important  of  all  the  subjects  taught 
in  the  schools.  It  is  fundamental ;  it  is  the 
open  sesame  to  those  treasures  of  the  race 
stored  away  in  books.  It  is  also  the  most 
persistent  of  all  the  acquirements  of  school. 
From  the  earliest  years  of  childhood  to  the 
last  moments  of  recorded  time,  people  read. 
And  yet  my  observation  is  that  our  public 
schools  are  more  concerned  with  learning 
the  mechanics  of  reading  than  with  the 
deeper  importance  of  learning  what  to  read.  *' 
To  the  great  hosts  of  grammar-school 
graduates  the  realm  of  literature  is  practi- 
cally an  undiscovered  country. 

The  public  schools  exist  for  the  purpose  of 
preparing  boys  and  girls  for  complete  liv- 
ing, not  for  a  partial,  one-sided  life.    More- 

1 


2      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

over,  this  fullness  of  life  is  to  beN  experienced 
during  the  school  years  as  well  as  when  the 
days  of  school  are  over.  An  active,  directed, 
progressive  participation  in  life  is  the  heri- 
tage of  every  school  child.  The  healthful, 
vigorous  interaction  of  all  the  faculties, 
tuned  to  perfect  harmony,  should  make  the 
song  of  life.  Fullness  of  life  comprehends, 
not  merely  the  material  and  mental  spheres, 
but  those  even  more  significant  worlds  of 
the  imagination  and  the  emotions.  From 
these  the  will,  the  master  wheel  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  conduct,  derives  its  impetus. 

The  hunger  to  know  the  meaning  of  life 
is  almost  as  primal  as  the  hunger  for  food. 
It  is  the  function  of  the  seejp  of  the  world  to 
satisfy  this  hunger.  The  wisdom  which  the 
race  has  acquired  is  for  the  most  part  locked 
up  in  those  books  which  we  call  literature. 
In  them  the  meaning  «of  life  has  found  a 
permanent  expression.  Out  of  the  Bible, 
Shakespeare,  and  the  rest,  come  the  issues 
of  life. 

Reading,  properly  taught,  ought  to  do  at 
least  three  things  for  the  child.     First,  it 


READING  3 

ought  to  create  a  taste  for  Hferaturg,  and  by 
taste  I  mean  an  appreciation  of  that  which 
is  choice  and  best.  Secondly,  it  ought  to 
fit  the  child  to  read  intelligently  and  with 
delight  the  great  books  of  the  world.  And 
thirdly,  it  ought  to  create  a  permanent 
interest,  —  an  interest  which  causes  the 
child  to  read  continually  the  best  litera- 
ture throughout  life.  Application,  however 
diligent,  to  the  school  readers  alone,  will 
never  bring  about  such  results.  Much  of 
the  material  of  these  readers  is  intrinsically 
worthless.  Great  quantities  of  it  are  scrappy, 
and  in  the  hands  of  the  average  teacher  pro- 
duce no  lasting  results,  while  that  which  is 
unitary  and  re^l  literature  is  necessarily 
confined  to  the  smaller  classics. 

Great  books,  and  those  approximately 
great,  ought  to  be  well  known  and  thor- 
oughly loved.  To  read  these  with  pleasure 
and  with  understanding,  a  specific  prepa- 
ration is  required.  A  fairly  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  great  tributaries  of  the 
literary  stream  is  necessary  to  an  enjoyable 
and  profitable  reading  of   the  books  worth 


4      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

while.  Such  a  knowledge  necessitates  a 
carefully-graded  and  selected  series  of 
books,  supplementary  to  the  readers  used 
in  school. 


LITERATURE    AND    LIFE 

Literature  has  been  characterized  by 
Barrett  Wendell  as  the  "lasting  expression 
in  words  of  the  meaning  of  life."  The 
statement  is  profoundly  true.  Within  its 
pages  is  to  be  found  the  deepest  and  truest 
revelation  that  the  race  has  made  of  itself. 
Here  the  seers  of  the  world  have  recorded 
their  flashes  of  insight.  The  answers  of  the 
universe  to  man's  fervid,  persistent  ques- 
tionings are  written  here.  The  agony  of  the 
human  soul  in  its  endeavor  to  fathom  the 
mysteries  of  existence  is  engraven  on  its 
pages.  The  intellect  has  ransacked  every 
sphere,  from  the  lowest  to  the  empyrean,  to 
enrich  its  store.  Its  chief  function  is  to  lay 
bare  the  wisdom  of  the  heart,  purified  of  its 


LITERATURE   AND    LIFE  5 

dross  by  the  masterful  creative  imagina- 
tions of  men. 

It  is  the  nature  of  the  human  soul  to 
strive  after  the  meaning  of  life.  Its  desire  is 
to  be  permeated  by  "sweetness  and  light." 
On  every  side  we  are  hemmed  in  by  the 
limitations  of  our  nature  and  environment. 
The  desire  to  enter  the  widening  boundaries 
of  life  forces  itself  upon  us  at  every  moment. 
It  is  the  most  constant  and  the  most  perma- 
nent of  human  longings.  Its  imperative 
demands  transcend  all  others.  To  under- 
stand the  significance  of  existence  and  the 
mystery  of  self  is  to  possess  supreme 
knowledge. 

Literature  is  the  key  to  self-revelation. 
It  unlocks  the  mystery  of  our  being.  "  Books 
reveal  us  to  ourselves."  They  show  us  the 
possibilities  of  our  nature.  They  make  in- 
telligible the  shifting,  endless  panorama  of 
experiences.  They  satisfy  the  burning  de- 
sire to  learn  what  emotions  are  within  our 
range.  Life  is  a  succession  of  emotions  and 
out  of  these  are  its  issues.  While  reason 
furnishes  the  guide  they  furnish  the  motive 


6      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

power.  In  these  are  to  be  found  the  im- 
pulses for  whatever  man  has  done  or 
dreamed,  suffered  or  enjoyed,  and  their 
adequate  expression  is  what  we  call 
literature. 

The  hunger  to  know  to  the  full  the  emo- 
tions of  the  race  seems  almost  as  funda- 
mental as  the  hunger  for  love.  In  the  realm 
of  books  we  may  wander  through  the  whole 
range  of  mortal  joys  and  sorrows.  Through 
them  our  lives  may  be  enriched  with  a  full- 
ness beside  which  our  ordinary  existence 
is  stale  and  unprofitable.  To  read  under- 
standing^ and  delightedly  a  great  book  is 
to  have  a  profound  emotional  experience. 
The  result  of  every  such  experience  is  to 
add  new  life  to  that  already  acquired  and 
to  enter  more  fully  into  that  race  inheritance 
which  is  not  less  real  and  far  more  signifi- 
cant than  the  heritage  of  material  things. 

Bewildered  by  the  complex  motives  of  real 
life  and  its  shifting  events,  we  are  slow  to 
grasp  its  meaning.  Its  mysteries  are  con- 
fusing; and  chaotic.  Our  contact  is  with  its 
fragments  and  not  its  entirety.     Its  essen- 


WHY    STUDY    LITERATURE  7 

tials  are  seldom  seen.  It  is  by  a  chance 
gesture,  or  word,  or  look,  that  often  our 
most  intimate  friend  reveals  his  real  self. 
Our  individual  experiences  are  so  confused 
and  changed  by  the  crowd  of  those  which 
throng  upon  us  that  we  fail  to  understand 
them.  The  rare  souls  only  can  unweave  the 
tangled  skein  of  fate.  To  the  seers,  the 
poets,  and  the  great  prose  authors,  it  is 
given  to  arrange  and  present  life's  truths. 
Their  writings  are  life  incarnate.  By  pro- 
jecting their  imaginatron  into  the  unknown 
vast  that  envelops  man  they  make  life  what 
it  is,  —  the  life  of  which  man  realizes  him- 
self capable  and  enthrones  in  his  hopes 
and  dreams.  Yea  more,  the  life  which  he 
actualizes  in  no  small  degree. 


WHY   STUDY    LITERATURE 

There  are  many  reasons  why  children 
should  be  required  to  study  literature.  By 
study,  I  do  not  mean  the  mere  reading  of 


8      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

books.  There  must  be  that  keen  intellectual 
process,  that  attitude  of  mind,  and  that  per- 
sistency of  purpose  which  enable  the  stu- 
dent to  apprehend  the  creative  thought  of 
the  book.  The  process  must  be  one  of  the 
keenest  enjoyment,  for  no  literary  study  is 
of  high  value  to  children  which  is  not  a 
delight  for  them.  The  primary  object  is 
pleasure,  the  ultimate  oJriecFis  assimilation. 
Thus  to  approach  tlTeBcat  worlds  of  art  is 
both  a  joy  and  a  dute.  A  mind  so  trained 
is  not  only  quickened  by  being  touched  by 
the  great  intellects  and  imaginations,  but  is 
made  elastic  and  is  enriched  by  social  cul- 
ture and  life  insight. 

The  study  of  literature  implies  also  se- 
lected material.  Children  should  not  be 
allowed  to  read  at  pleasure  all  the  books 
that  may  be  within  their  reach.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  the  best  only  should  be 
used,  and  that  which  fits  into  a  definite, 
logical,  and  approved  scheme.  Such  litera- 
ture brings  children  face  to  face  with  the 
thoughts  of  the  masters;  it  appeals  to  the 
intellect  and  the  reason ;  it  awakens  and  stirs 


WHY    STUDY   LITERATURE  9 

the  emotions;  it  exercises  the  imagination 
and  the  fancy ;  it  trains  the  aesthetic  faculty 
by  developing  a  sense  of  beauty  in  form  and 
diction;  it  cultivates  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious sentiment  through  ideal  representa- 
tions ;  it  creates  a  taste  for  what  is  clean  and 
healthy  and  enlarges  the  appreciation  of 
what  is  choice  and  best. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  true  poet  builds 
upon  eternal  foundations  and  makes  im- 
mortal all  that  is  best  in  the  world.  The 
true  prose  writer  does  the  same.  Any  litera- 
ture worthy  of  the  name  fosters  the  love  of 
truth  because  this  is  its  chief  element.  Un- 
derlying every  masterpiece  is  permanent 
truth. 

Then,  too,  literature  brings  out  human 
conduct  and  character  in  a  great  variety  of 
ways  which  conform  to  human  life.  In 
them  men  and  women  march  before  us. 
We  hear  them  speak  and  see  them  act,  and 
thereby  judge  their  motives  and  condemn 
or  approve  their  deeds.  They  furnish  us  a 
representation  of  life,  and  as  we  watch  them 
we  are  moved  to  pity,  anger,  or  sympathy. 


10      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

All  this,  if  directed  and  controlled,  is  most 
beneficial  to  the  child.  In  the  development 
of  characters  as  we  see  them  grow  and  be- 
come different  in  response  to  definite  influ- 
ences, the  principles  which  underlie  human 
conduct  are  revealed  and  we  realize  in  ad- 
vance what  the  results  will  be  if  certain 
motives  are  allowed  free  play. 

And  finally,  the  best  literature  inspires 
people  with  a  sense  of  the  richness  and 
grandeur  of  life.  It  leads  to  optimism,  and 
furthermore  it  furnishes  an  antidote  to  vul- 
garity, which  Jordan  defines  as  "content- 
ment with  inferior  things."  Says  Ruskin, 
"Simple  and  innocent  vulgarity  is  merely 
an  untrained  and  undeveloped  bluntness  of 
body  and  mind."  In  a  word,  the  study  of 
literature  leads  to  culture,  which  in  the  high- 
est sense  is  a  synonym  for  character.  This 
is  the  only  thing  in  the  world  of  absolute 
value  in  itself. 


CRITICISM  11 


CRITICISM 


Matthew  Arnold  once  said  that  the 
function  of  criticism  is  "to  know  the  best 
that  is  thought  and  known  in  the  world." 
,To  know  the  best  when  one  sees  it  requires 
an  intelligent  appreciation.  Any  piece  of 
literature  worthy  the  name  is  a  work  of  art. 
To  criticize  a  work  of  art  requires  taste,  that 
is,  the  power  of  perceiving  and  estimating 
excellence.  Literature  is  one  of  the  fine 
arts,  and  an  appreciation  of  what  is  finest 
and  best  is  a  necessary  equipment  for  one 
who  teaches  it  well. 

Appreciation  for  every  one  is  partly  na- 
tive and  partly  acquired.  To  a  certain  de- 
gree each  person  is  an  epitome  of  his  pro- 
genitors. He  inherits  not  only  his  physical 
qualities  but  a  sense  of  that  which  is  beau- 
tiful, congruous,  and  symmetrical.  The 
fine  taste  of  such  a  man  as  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson  is  due  in  no  small  degree  to  his 
long  line  of  cultured  ancestors.  Not  every 
one  is  endowed  with  perceptions  as  fine  and 


12      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

keen  as  Emerson's,  and  no  doubt  in  the  ulti- 
mate analysis  of  critical  acumen  these  in- 
herited perceptions  play  a  considerable 
part.  But  no  matter  how  highly  nature  has 
endowed  one,  there  must  be  training  and 
cultivation.  The  keenest  appreciation  of 
literature  comes  from  a  special  education. 
No  matter  how  cultured  the  germ,  it  must  be 
fostered  and  disciplined. 

Acquired  taste,  however,  is  for  us  all,  and 
for  most  of  us  it  is  practically  all  we  have. 
We  get  it  much  as  people  do  good  manners. 
I  doubt  if  anyone  ever  acquired  good  man- 
ners by  reading  books  of  etiquette  only. 
To  be  well  mannered  one  must  associate  with 
people  who  have  good  manners  and  study 
them  at  first  hand.  And  so  with  an  appre- 
ciation for  the  choicest  literature.  It  can- 
not be  obtained  by  reading  books  about 
literature.  Association  with  that  which  is 
recognized  as  choice  and  best  is  necessary. 
Its  special  forms  and  elements  must  be 
studied.  Each  one  must  begin  as  a  fol- 
lower, strive  to  be  interested  in  what  seems 
worth  while,  master  its  methods  and  laws, 


THE    DISTINGUISHING    MARKS  13 

in  order  that  in  the  end  he  may  become  a 
leader. 

A  teacher  must  be  a  leader.  A  leader  in 
the  field  of  literature  implies  not  only  taste, 
but  the  ability  to  give  each  piece  of  art  its 
due  estimate.  A  sense  of  relative  values 
is  imperative.  A  wide  knowledge  and  a 
power  of  correlation  is  essential.  The  end 
must  be  foreseen  from  the  beginning  in 
order  to  develop  a  course  methodical,  com- 
prehensive, and  articulated.  Every  teacher 
in  the  primary  and  grammar  grades  should 
know  all  the  work,  be  able  to  look  forward 
and  backward,  know  the  foundation  and 
the  finished  structure.  No  teacher  is  fitted 
to  teach  literature  who  knows  only  the  litera- 
ture of  a  particular  grade. 


THE   DISTINGUISHING   MARKS 

Every  teacher  of  literature  must  ask  him- 
self these  questions :  What  is  it  ?  How 
may  I  know  it  ?    What  are  its  functions  ? 


14      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Like  every  general  concept  it  is  hard  to 
define.  Every  one  knows,  or  thinks  he 
knows,  what  it  is  until  asked  to  give  a  defi- 
nition. In  its  widest  sense  it  is  "The  col- 
lective body  of  literary  productions  embrac- 
ing the  entire  results  of  knowledge  and  fancy 
preserved  in  writing."  So  understood,  lit- 
erature includes  not  only  such  books  as 
Shakespeare's  plays  and  Scott's  novels,  but 
Euclid's  geometry  and  Ray's  arithmetic. 
Such  a  conception  is  too  inclusive.  Neither 
the  ordinary  person  nor  the  scholar  so  under- 
stands it.  To  the  untrained  mind  the  dis- 
tinguishing marks  of  literature  are  usually 
very  vague.  They  are  generally  summed  up 
in  the  words,  "poetry,"  "novel,"  "drama," 
and  "  essay."  An  exact,  concise  definition 
is  perhaps  impossible,  and  such  as  have 
been  offered  are  more  or  less  unsatisfactory. 
Here  are  a  few : 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.  —  "Literature 
is  a  record  of  the  best  thoughts !" 

George  E.  Woodberry.  —  "Literature 
is  the  organ  of  the  race  mind." 

Stopford  Brooke.  —  "By  literature  we 


THE    DISTINGUISHING   MARKS  15 

mean  the  written  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
intelligent  men  and  women,  arranged  in  a 
way  that  shall  give  pleasure  to  the  reader." 

J.  Rose  Colby.  —  "Literature  is  an  artis- 
tic embodiment  of  life,  the  work  of  the  selec- 
tive judgment  and  creative  imagination." 

C.  T.  Winchester.  —  "Literature  is  al- 
ways, in  the  last  analysis,  an  imaginary 
representation  of  life,  as  the  author  sees 
life." 

John  Morley.  —  "Literature  consists  of 
all  the  books,  and  they  are  not  so  many, 
where  moral  truth  and  human  passion  are 
touched  with  a  certain  largeness,  sanity,  and 
attraction  of  form." 

Arlo  Bates.  —  "Literature  may  be 
broadly  defined  as  the  adequate  expression 
of  genuine  and  typical  emotion." 

These  statements  are  excellent  as  far  as 
they  go.  The  difficulty  is  appreciated  when 
one  studies  the  attempt  of  Sainte-Beuve  to 
define  a  classic  author,  —  "an  author  that 
has  enriched  the  human  mind,  who  has  really 
added  to  its  treasure,  who  has  got  it  to  take 
a  step   farther,   who  has   discovered   some 


16      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

unequivocal  moral  truth,  or  penetrated  to 
some  eternal  passion  in  that  heart  of  man 
where  it  seemed  as  though  all  were  known 
and  explored ;  who  has  produced  his  thought 
or  his  observation  or  his  invention  under 
some  form,  no  matter  what,  so  it  may  be 
large,  acute,  and  reasonable,  sane  and  beau- 
tiful in  itself;  who  has  spoken  to  all  in  a 
style  of  everybody,  —  in  a  style  that  is  at 
once  new  and  antique,  and  is  the  contem- 
porary of  the  ages."  '  Admirable  as  this 
statement  is,  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  com- 
prehend, and  the  average  teacher  finds  it 
practically  impossible  to  apply  it  in  literary 
tests.  Then,  too,  all  literature  is  not  of  this 
exalted  standard. 

A  more  helpful  statement  than  any  of  the 
above  is  one  made  by  De  Quincey  in  the 
third  of  his  "Letters  to  a  Young  Man." 
He  says :  "All  that  is  literature  seeks  to  com- 
municate power;  all  that  is  not  literature 
to  communicate  knowledge.  Now,  if  it  be 
asked    what   is    meant    by    communicating 

1  Quoted  from  Winchester's  "  Principles  of  Literary  Criticism," 
p.  36. 


THE    DISTINGUISHING   MARKS  17 

power,  I,  in  my  turn,  would  ask  by  what 
name  a  man  would  designate  the  case  in 
which  I  should  be  made  to  feel  vividly,  and 
with  a  vital  consciousness,  emotions  which 
ordinary  life  rarely  or  never  supplies  occa- 
sion for  existing."  Elsewhere  he  says: 
"There  is  first  the  literature  of  knowledge, 
and  secondly,  the  literature  of  power.  The 
function  of  the  first  is  to  teach ;  the  function 
of  the  second  is  to  move ;  the  first  is  a  rudder ; 
the  second  an  oar  or  a  sail.  The  first  speaks 
to  the  mere  discursive  understanding;  the 
second  speaks  ultimately,  it  may  happen, 
to  the  higher  understanding  or  reason,  but 
always  through  affections  of  pleasure  and 
sympathy." 

The  literature  of  knowledge  makes  its 
appeal  to  the  intellect.  Its  function  is  pri- 
marily to  give  information,  merely  for  the 
sake  of  the  information.  Its  province  is  the 
realm  of  fact.  The  mathematician  or  scien- 
tist is  concerned  in  presenting  his  thought  in 
a  clear,  logical,  and  convincing  way,  and  cares 
nothing  about  the  feelings  of  the  reader.  His 
business  is  to  make  us  see  things  as  they  are. 

2 


18      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

The  literature  of  power  corresponds  to 
what  we  commonly  call  literature.  Power, 
as  De  Quincey  uses  the  word,  means  power 
over  our  feelings,  and  literature  makes  its 
fundamental  appeal  to  the  emotions.  It 
makes  this  appeal  chiefly  through  the  im- 
agination. Literature  is  not  limited  by  the 
realm  of  facts  but  may,  and  usually  does, 
deal  with  the  larger  term,  truth.  In  addition 
to  making  us  see  things  as  they  are,  it  asks  us 
to  see  things  as  they  might  be. 

Thought  is  everywhere  fundamental.  The 
literature  of  knowledge  and  the  didactic  and 
persuasive  forms  of  the  literature  of  power 
find  their  reason  for  existence  here.  It  fur- 
nishes the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
written.  But  in  many  pieces  of  genuine 
literature  the  thought  is  comparatively 
slight. 

I  trust  it  has  appeared  so  far  from  this 
brief  discussion  that  the  distinguishing  marks 
of  literature  are  emotion,  imagination,  and 
thought.  There  remains  one  other  element 
to  be  mentioned,  namely,  form.  This  is  of 
exceedingly  great  importance,  although  not 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  19 

an  end  in  itself.  It  is  the  means  by  which 
all  thought,  feeling,  and  imagination  find 
expression. 


THE  EMOTIONAL  ELEMENT 

A  fundamental  law  of  art  is  that  it 
makes  an  appeal  to  the  emotion.  Music, 
the  most  typical  of  all  the  fine  arts,  makes 
this  appeal  directly.  It  apparently  needs  no 
intellectual  process  to  bring  about  its  re- 
sults. There  is  no  active  play  of  the  imag- 
ination, no  formation  of  concrete,  definite 
concepts.  At  best  the  intellectuality  of  the 
process  is  but  a  vague,  dreamy  suggestion. 
Its  subtlety  escapes  analysis.  The  various 
tones  are  conveyed  immediately  to  certain 
nerve  centers  and  we  feel.  Emotion  follows 
emotion  and  may  have  no  connection  with 
any  intellectual  processes  whatsoever. 

Literature  is  also  a  fine  art,  but  it  is  not  so 
typical  as  music.  Its  appeal  is  an  indirect 
one.      It   works   with    definite,   intellectual 


20      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

entities.  These  representations  are  con- 
crete, whether  objects  or  actions,  and  are 
made  vivid  and  effective  by  the  imagination. 
Indeed,  it  is  questionable  whether  without 
imagination  literature  can  produce  emotion. 
Ruskin  has  said  "Poetry  is  the  sugges- 
tion by  the  imagination  of  noble  grounds  for 
noble  emotions."  This  is  true  of  all  worthy 
literature.  The  most  significant  fact  about 
it  is  its  power  to  excite  emotion.  This  fact 
is  fundamental.  Take  away  this  power  and 
the  composition  ceases  to  be  literature. 
With  it  the  production  is  vital.  It  never 
grows  old.  One  may  read  it  again  and 
again.  The  emotion  experienced  at  first 
may  be  excited  an  indefinite  number  of 
times  and  always  with  the  same  or  a  greater 
sense  of  pleasure.  It  is  this  emotional  pleas- 
ure which  causes  us  to  say  over  and  over 
the  bits  of  poetry  we  have  learned,  and  the 
choice  prose.  It  is  this  effect  which  makes 
us  go  regularly  to  those  writings  that  awake 
the  masterful  and  primal  emotions  of  the 
soul,  —  such  passions  as  joy,  love,  aspira- 
tion, pity,  terror,  and  pathos.     In  such  as 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  21 

these,  the  soul  touches  the  high  tide  of  life, 
floats  out  into  that  eternal  vast,  and  dis- 
covers its  affinity  to  other  souls  and  to  God. 
How  cold  is  the  mere  statement  of  fact, 
and  how  soon  may  it  be  forgotten !  In  the 
religious  experience  of  most  people  there 
comes  a  period  of  doubt  —  questionings  as 
to  the  historic  Christ,  the  story  of  salvation, 
and  the  certainty  of  a  future  life.  When  the 
battle  is  over  we  calmly  say,  "I  believe  that 
when  the  time  comes  to  die  God  will  call 
me.  At  that  time  I  trust  there  shall  be  no 
doubt.  Do  not  weep  for  me,  —  I  shall  see 
Jesus  face  to  face."  Such  a  statement  does 
not  move  people.  They  do  not  learn  it  by 
heart  and  repeat  it  on  countless  occasions. 
But  once  a  great  poet  had  those  thoughts. 
He  lived  on  a  beautiful  island.  Far  away 
to  the  south  and  west  stretched  the  open 
sea.  Over  the  great  sandbar  at  times  he 
could  hear  the  rush  and  murmur  of  the  tide 
as  it  came  in,  lashed  by  the  storm.  He  had 
seen  the  tide  at  its  full,  when  all  was  calm, 
silently  go  out  into  the  great  ocean  as  the 
tolling  bell  marked  the  fall  of  twilight  and 


22      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

night  with  its  sable  blanket  shut  out  the 
glories  of  the  world.  He  had  lived  through 
a  storm  of  doubt  that  had  been  stilled.  His 
faith  was  at  the  last  unmoved.  The  mys- 
tery of  it  had  merged  into  verity,  and  in 
beautifully  figurative  language  he  expressed 
it  all  in  an  exquisite  poem,  —  a  bit  of  lit- 
erature touching  the  deepest  emotion  of  the 
soul,  the  passion  for  eternal  life  and  peace. 

"Sunset  and  evening  star, 
And  one  clear  call  for  me ! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar, 
"When  I  put  out  to  sea, 

"But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep, 
Too  full  for  sound  and  foam, 
When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep 
Turns  again  home. 

"Twilight  and  evening  bell, 
And  after  that  the  dark ! 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell, 
"When  I  embark. 

"For  though  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 
The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 
When  I  have  crost  the  bar."  ' 

1  Copyright,  1893,  by  Macmillan  and  Co. 


THE   EMOTIONAL   ELEMENT  23 

•  Not  everything  that  has  the  power  to 
arouse  emotion  is  worthy  of  study.  Man 
has  ignoble  as  well  as  noble  emotions,  and 
only  the  latter  are  to  be  fostered  and  cared 
for.  Noble  literature  does  not  exclude  the 
contemplation  of  ignoble  emotions  in  others, 
but  it  does  exclude  that  which  awakens 
ignoble  passions  in  ourselves.  Among  these 
are  envy,  disgust,  jealousy,  covetousness, 
and  such  selfish  and  unhealthful  desires  as 
degrade  and  contract  the  soul.  The  sensa- 
tional story  and  the  penny  dreadful  that 
rack  the  nerves  and  disturb  the  senses,  the 
so-called  realism  that  grovels  in  the  filth  of 
life,  lays  bare  its  living  sores,  induces  disgust 
and  contempt  for  humanity,  should  be  con- 
signed to  the  bottomless  pit.  They  are 
"not  sincere,  not  convincing,  not  consistent, 
not  true  to  life."  The  first  test  of  the  emo- 
tional element  is  that  of  healthfulness.  If 
this  test  fails,  it  is  not  worth  while  to  apply 
others.  The  book  or  poem,  or  whatever  it 
may  be,  is  not  for  boys  and  girls. 

The  further  value  of  emotion  is  tested  by 
its  vividness  or  power.    Does  this  thing  take 


24      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

hold  of  you  ?  Does  it  make  you  see  some- 
thing of  "the  light  that  never  was  on  sea  or 
land,"  —  realize  something  of  "the  conse- 
cration and  the  poet's  dream?"  Is  your 
soul  thrilled  and  expanded  ?  The  more 
intensely  the  book  does  these  things  the 
greater  literature  it  is,  all  else  being  equal. 
Nor  is  it  at  all  necessary  that  these  emotions 
should  be  of  the  active,  boisterous  kind. 
They  may  very  well  be  of  this  nature  as  in 
the  famous  speech  of  Henry  V  to  his  soldiers 
before  Harfleur: 

"Once  more  unto  the  breach,  dear  friends,  once  more, 
Or  close  the  wall  up  with  our  English  dead ! 
In  peace  there's  nothing  so  becomes  a  man 
As  modest  stillness  and  humility; 
But  when  the  blast  of  war  blows  in  our  ears, 
Then  imitate  the  action  of  the  tiger : 
Stiffen  the  sinews,  summon  up  the  blood, 
Disguise  fair  nature  with  hard-fa vor'd  rage; 
Then  lend  the  eye  a  terrible  aspect; 
Let  it  pry  through  the  portage  of  the  head 
Like  the  brass  cannon ;  let  the  brow  o'er  whelm  it 
As  fearfully  as  doth  a  galled  rock 
O'erhang  and  jutty  his  confounded  base, 
Swill'd  with  the  wild  and  wasteful  ocean. 
Now  set  the  teeth  and  stretch  the  nostril  wide, 


THE   EMOTIONAL   ELEMENT  25 

Hold  hard  the  breath,  and  bend  up  every  spirit 

To  his  full  height.     On,  on,  you  noble  English, 

Whose  blood  is  fet  from  fathers  of  war  proof, 

Fathers  that,  like  so  many  Alexanders, 

Have  in  these  parts  from  morn  till  even  fought 

And  sheath'd  their  swords  for  lack  of  argument ! 

Dishonor  not  your  mothers;  now  attest 

That  those  whom  you  call'd  fathers  did  beget  you. 

Be  copy  now  to  men  of  grosser  blood, 

And  teach  them  how  to  war !" 

On  the  other  hand  there  may  be  just  as 
deep  a  power,  just  as  fervid  a  welling  of 
those  subtle  and  deeply  calm  emotions  which 
ordinary  occasions  never  touch  and  which 
usually  lie  too  deep  for  tears.  The  soul  is 
hushed  to  silence  in  the  presence  of  such  a 
thing  as  Wordsworth's  sonnet: 

"It  is  a  beauteous  evening,  calm  and  free, 
The  holy  time  is  quiet  as  a  Nun 
Breathless  with  adoration;  the  broad  sun 
Is  sinking  down  in  its  tranquillity; 
The  gentleness  of  heaven  broods  o'er  the  Sea : 
Listen  !  the  mighty  Being  is  awake, 
And  doth  with  his  eternal  motion  make 
A  sound  like  thunder  —  everlastingly. 
Dear  Child  !  Dear  Girl !  that  walkest  with  me  here, 
If  thou  appear  untouched  by  solemn  thought, 


2G      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Thy  nature  is  not  therefore  less  divine : 
Thou  liest  in  Abraham's  bosom  all  the  year; 
And  worship'st  at  the  Temple's  inner  shrine, 
God  being  with  thee  when  we  know  it  not." 


A  third  test  of  the  emotional  value  of  lit- 
erature is  its  variety.  In  a  small  bit  of  verse 
or  prose  there  may  be  one  emotion  only,  as 
in  the  little  squib: 

"Jennie  kissed  me  when  we  met, 
Jumping  from  the  chair  she  sat  in. 
Time,  you  thief,  who  love  to  put 
Sweets  into  your  list,  put  that  in. 
Say  I'm  ugly,  say  I'm  sad, 
Say  that  health  and  wealth  have  missed  me, 
Say  I'm  growing  old,  but  add, 
Jennie  kissed  me." 

Here  is  just  the  one  emotion  of  delight. 
In  something  more  pretentious,  Burns' 
"John  Anderson,  my  Jo,"  one  finds  two 
emotions.  "Jo"  means  dear,  and  there  is 
in  the  poem,  on  the  part  of  the  old  wife,  a 
keen  sense  of  remembered  joy  of  things 
past  and  an  exquisite  pathos  at  what  is  to 
come. 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  27 

"John  Anderson,  my  jo,  John, 

When  we  were  first  acquent; 
Your  locks  were  like  the  raven, 

Your  bonnie  brow  was  brent; 
But  now  your  brow  is  beld,  John, 

Your  locks  are  like  the  snaw; 
But  blessing  on  your  frosty  pow, 

John  Anderson,  my  jo. 

"John  Anderson,  my  jo,  John, 

We  clamb  the  hill  thegither; 
And  mony  a  canty  day,  John, 

We've  had  wi'  ane  anither; 
Now  we  maun  totter  down,  John, 

But  hand  in  hand  we'll  go; 
And  sleep  thegither  at  the  foot, 

John  Anderson,  my  jo." 

And  so  it  may  be  in  all  minor  productions. 
But  in  a  great  piece  of  literature  of  any  con- 
siderable length  there  must  be  a  wide  range 
of  emotions.  This  must  be  so  in  order  to 
be  true  to  life.  Our  emotions  are  in  a  con- 
stant flux.  A  single  one  can  be  held  in  its 
intensity  but  a  moment.  Just  as  soon  as 
joy,  sorrow,  pity,  terror,  or  any  other  emo- 
tion reaches  its  acme,  it  begins  to  shade  off 
into  something  else,  or  at  once  to  give  way 


28      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

to  its  opposite,  perhaps.  The  dramatist 
when  he  has  wrought  us  up  to  the  highest 
tragic  passion,  knowing  that  we  can  endure 
it  but  an  instant,  changes  the  scene,  intro- 
duces a  Launcelot  Gobbo,  or  the  grave- 
digger  singing  at  his  work.  Let  us  con- 
sider for  a  moment  one  of  Shakespeare's 
tragedies. 

We  approach  it  with  the  serenity  of  a 
summer  day.  But  in  a  moment  we  are 
transformed.  The  storm  of  passion  breaks 
as  from  a  clear  sky.  Our  being  throbs  with 
hope  and  love,  and  the  mighty  surges  of 
pity  and  terror  sweep  over  us.  How  beauti- 
ful, how  pathetic,  how  terrible  is  the  story 
of  Othello !  Venice,  the  Bride  of  the  Sea, 
lies  tranquilly  sleeping  on  his  bosom.  The 
moonlight  streams  across  the  Adriatic,  and 
lovingly  touches  its  battlements  and  towers. 
The  gilded  dome  of  St.  Mark's  glitters  like 
a  beacon.  Here  and  there  in  the  dark 
shadows  lurks  a  cloaked  and  muffled  figure. 
At  times  the  glint  of  an  oar  is  seen  and  the 
low  plashing  of  waves  against  the  wharf  is 
heard  as  some  belated  gondolier  pushes  by 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  29 

in    his    strange    craft.      Suddenly    we    are 

startled  by  the  cry  — 

"  What,  ho,  Brabantio  !  Signior  Brabantio,  ho  !  " 

Startled  by 

"The  timorous  accent  and  dire  yell, 
As  when,  by  night  and  negligence,  the  fire 
Is  spied  in  populous  cities." 

From  this  fond  old  father,  with  his  tran- 
quil slumber,  passes  forever  his  peace  of 
mind.  The  jewel  of  his  life,  the  beautiful 
and  lovely  Desdemona,  has  forsaken  him 
for  the  dusky  Moor.  In  vain  his  puny 
efforts  beat  against  the  bulwarks  of  fate. 
He  cannot  believe  that  Desdemona  would 
of  her  own  free  will  fly  to  that  "she  feared 
to  look  on."  He  will  hale  Othello  before 
the  Ducal  court;  degradation  and  loss  of 
life  shall  be  the  penalty  of  his  use  of 
witchcraft. 

At  the  tribunal  of  state  our  sympathy  for 
the  bereaved  father  is  quickly  swallowed  up 
in  the  noble  defence  and  the  noble  defender. 
Listen  to  his  words: 

"Most  potent,  grave,  and  reverend  signiors, 
My  very  noble  and  approved  good  masters, 


30      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

That  I  have  ta'en  away  this  old  man's  daughter, 
It  is  most  true;  true,  I  have  married  her. 
The  very  head  and  front  of  my  offending 
Hath  this  extent,  no  more.     Rude  am  I  in  speech, 
And  little  blest  with  the  soft  phrase  of  peace : 
For  since  these  arms  of  mine  had  seven  years'  pith, 
Till  now  some  nine  moons  wasted,  they  have  us'd 
Their  dearest  action  in  the  tented  field; 
And  little  of  this  great  world  can  I  speak 
More  than  pertains  to  feats  of  broil  and  battle, 
And  therefore  little  shall  I  grace  my  cause 
In  speaking  for  myself. 

"Her  father  loved  me,  oft  invited  me, 
Still  questioned  me  the  story  of  my  life 
From  year  to  year,  —  the  battles,  sieges,  fortunes, 
That  I  have  pass'd. 

I  ran  it  through  even  from  my  boyish  days 
To  the  very  moment  that  he  bade  me  tell  it; 
Wherein  I  spake  of  most  disastrous  chances, 
Of  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field, 
Of   hair-breadth  scapes    i'    the    imminent   deadly 

breach, 
Of  being  taken  by  the  insolent  foe 
And  sold  to  slavery,  of  my  redemption  thence, 
And  portance  in  my  travel's  history; 
Wherein  of  antres  vast  and  deserts  idle, 
Rough    quarries,    rocks,   and    hills    whose    heads 

touch  heaven, 
It  was  my  hint  to  speak,  —  such  was  the  process. 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  31 

"This  to  hear 
Would  Desdemona  seriously  incline: 
But  still  the  house  affairs  would  draw  her  thence; 
Which  ever  as  she  could  with  haste  dispatch, 
She'd  come  again,  and  with  a  greedy  ear 
Devour  up  my  discourse :  which  I  observing, 
Took  once  a  pliant  hour,  and  found  good  means 
To  draw  from  her  a  prayer  of  earnest  heart 
That  I  would  all  my  pilgrimage  dilate, 
Whereof  by  parcels  she  had  something  heard, 
But  not  intentively.     I  did  consent, 
And  often  did  beguile  her  of  her  tears, 
When  I  did  speak  of  some  distressful  stroke 
That  my  youth  suffered.     My  story  being  done, 
She  gave  me  for  my  pains  a  world  of  sighs : 
She  swore,  in  faith  't  was  strange,  't  was  passing 

strange, 
'T  was  pitiful,  't  was  wondrous  pitiful ; 
She  wish'd  she  had  not  heard  it,  yet  she  wish'd 
That  heaven   had   made   her   such  a  man.     She 

thanked  me, 
And  bade  me,  if  I  had  a  friend  that  lov'd  her 
I  should  but  teach  him  how  to  tell  my  story, 
And  that  would  woo  her.     Upon  this  hint  I  spake; 
She  lov'd  me  for  the  dangers  I  had  pass'd, 
And  I  lov'd  her  that  she  did  pity  them. 
This  only  is  the  witchcraft  I  have  us'd." 

How  we  love  the  beautiful  Desdemona  as 
she  bravely  takes  her  place  by  the  side  of 
her   rightful   lord,   and   what  inexpressible 


32      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

pity  for  the  old  father  who,  with  haughty 
mien  and  flippant  speech,  totters  away  to 
die  of  a  broken  heart. 

But  this  feeling  does  not  possess  us  long. 
"Never  morning  wore  to  evening;  but  some 
heart  did  break,"  and  the  tragedy  of  life  is 
inextricably  interwoven  with  the  comedy. 
The  scene  shifts.  It  is  the  isle  of  Cyprus. 
The  storm  that  had  so  lately  moved  upon 
the  deep  is  still.  The  wind  that  "ruffianed 
so  upon  the  sea"  is  gone  to  sleep.  "The 
chidden  billow,"  "the  wind-shak'd  surge" 
"that  seemed  to  cast  its  water  on  the  burning 
Bear"  no  longer  "mounts  up  to  the  fixed 
star."  The  sun-kissed  isle  is  but  the  image 
of  the  "aching  joy"  of  Desdemona  and  the 
Moor.    Listen  to  Othello : 

"  O  my  soul's  joy  ! 
If  after  every  tempest  come  such  calms, 
May  the  winds  blow  till  they  have  waken'd  death  ! 
And  let  the  laboring  bark  climb  hills  of  seas 
Olympus-high,  and  duck  again  as  low 
As  hell 's  from  heaven  !     If  it  were  now  to  die, 
'T  were  now  to  be  most  happy ;  for,  I  fear, 
My  soul  hath  her  content  so  absolute, 
That  not  another  comfort  like  unto  this 
Succeeds  in  unknown  fate." 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  33 

What  a  premonition  !  and  in  our  intensity 
of  joy  we  feel  a  thrill  of  terror.  A  fiend  is 
upon  their  track.  Infinitely  cunning,  re- 
lentless, and  compassionless,  Iago  out  of 
suspicion  will  act  as  for  certainty.  The 
arch  devil  summons  his  demon  of  jealousy 
and  bids  him  destroy  the  noble  soul  of 
Othello.  How  our  heart  pulses  with  hope 
when  the  serpent  is  rebuffed !  But  inch  by 
inch  he  coils  round  his  victim  "sick  and 
wounded"  until  at  last,  crushed,  that  victim 
utters  the  heart-rending  cry,  "The  pity  of 
it,  Iago !     O  Iago,  the  pity  of  it." 

Unwavering  now  he  moves  toward  the 
goal  of  destruction.  He  enters  the  chamber 
of  the  sleeping  Desdemona.  The  light  burns 
dimly.  Have  you  ever  seen  him  and  not 
had  that  peculiar  feeling  which  makes  the 
hair  stand  on  end  ?  Listen  !  He  is  talking 
to  himself : 

"It  is  the  cause,  it  is  the  cause,  my  soul,  — 
Let  me  not  name  it  to  you,  you  chaste  stars  ! 
It  is  the  cause.     Yet  I'll  not  shed  her  blood, 
Nor  scar  that  whiter  skin  of  hers  than  snow, 
And  smooth  as  monumental  alabaster. 
Yet  she  must  die,  else  she'll  betray  more  men. 


34      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Put  out  the  light,  and   then  —  put  out  the  light ! 

If  I  quench  thee,  thou  flaming  minister, 

I  can  again  thy  former  light  restore, 

Should  I  repent  me ;  but  once  put  out  thy  light, 

Thou  cunning'st  pattern  of  excelling  nature, 

I  know  not  where  is  that  Promethean  heat 

That  can  thy  light  relume.    When  I  have  pluck 'd 

the  rose, 
I  cannot  give  it  vital  growth  again, 
It  must  needs  wither ;  I  '11  smell  it  on  the  tree. 
Ah,  balmy  breath,  thou  dost  almost  presuade 
Justice  to  break  her  sword  !     One  more,  one  more. 
Be  thus  when  thou  art  dead,  and  I  will  kill  thee, 
And  love  thee  after.     One  more,  and  this  the  last." 

And  throughout  it  all  our  hope  struggles 
with  our  fear.  Where  is  the  angel  that  has 
charge  of  her  who  sleeps  ?  A  moment  of 
fearful  suspense !  The  fierce,  wild  plunge 
of  a  beast !  A  low  moan !  The  pitiable, 
upturned  face  of  the  dead ! 

The  paroxysm  of  rage  is  past.  Truth, 
alas  too  late,  stalks  upon  the  scene.  The 
noble  soul  is  again  itself.  For  one  brief 
moment  it  asserts  its  natural  grandeur: 

"I  pray  you  in  your  letters 
When  you  shall  these  unlucky  deeds  relate, 
Speak  of  me  as  I  am ;  nothing  extenuate, 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  35 

Nor  set  down  aught  in  malice ;  then  you  must  speak 

Of  one  that  lov'd  not  wisely  but  too  well ; 

Of  one  not  easily  jealous,  but  being  wrought 

Perplex 'd  in  the  extreme;  of  one  whose  hand, 

Like  the  base  Indian,  threw  a  pearl  away 

Richer  than  all  his  tribe ;  of  one  whose  subdued  eyes 

Albeit  unused  to  the  melting  mood, 

Drop  tears  as  fast  as  the  Arabian  trees 

Their  medicinable  gum.     Set  you  down  this; 

And  say  besides,  that  in  Aleppo  once, 

Where  a  malignant  and  a  turban 'd  Turk 

Beat  a  Venetian  and  traduc'd  the  state, 

I  took  by  the  throat  the  circumcised  dog, 

And  smote  him  —  thus." 

And  as  we  pass,  consigning  them  to  "si- 
lence and  pathetic  dust,"  we  understand 
as  never  before  the  beautiful  words  of 
Longfellow : 

"The  setting  of  a  great  hope  is  like  the 
setting  of  the  sun.  The  brightness  of  our 
life  is  gone.  Shadows  of  evening  fall  around 
us  and  the  world  seems  a  reflection  — -  itself 
a  broader  shadow.  We  look  forward  into 
the  lonely  coming  night.  The  soul  with- 
draws into  itself.  Then  stars  arise  and  the 
night  is  holy." 

In  the  sacred  hush  that  follows  we  "take 


36      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

up  the  burden  of  life  again,"  better,  nobler, 
truer,  —  the  great  passions  of  our  souls 
being  chastened  and  subdued. 

It  is  to  be  observed  also  that  in  the  tragedy 
just  quoted  the  great  variety  of  effects  are  all 
brought  into  harmony  with  the  lurid  atmo- 
sphere of  jealousy.  Not  for  one  moment  is 
the  emotion  of  the  reader  lost,  —  not  for 
one  moment  is  the  keen  interest  blunted  by 
moralizing.  The  master  note  once  struck  is 
sustained.  This  power  of  sustained  emo- 
tion is  one  of  the  prime  qualities  of  the 
great  dramatists,  novelists,  and  poets,  and 
is  one  of  the  chief  tests  of  a  long  and  varied 
production. 

The  final  test  in  this  field  is  the  nature  of 
the  emotions  themselves.  Not  all  are  equally 
high  in  rank,  though  they  may  in  themselves 
be  of  admirable  quality.  The  emotional 
pleasure  which  arises  from  the  mere  jingle 
of  nonsense  rhymes  is  a  legitimate  one. 
Literature  has  power  to  arouse  a  whole 
group  of  emotions  dependent  upon  the 
senses.  Keats,  as  no  other  poet  perhaps, 
revels  in  sensuous  beauty.    Not  infrequently 


THE    EMOTIONAL    ELEMENT  37 

he  stops  with  the  sensuous  charm.  Litera- 
ture has  the  power  to  reproduce  the  most 
beautiful  things  in  the  natural  world  with 
the  keenest  sense  of  pleasure,  and  often  the 
pleasure  does  not  go  beyond  the  contempla- 
tion of  them.  Such  emotions  are  very  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  Wordsworth  in  "Lines 
Written  above  Tintern  Abbey."  These 
have  a  moral  element,  they  touch  the  main- 
spring of  conduct.  Such  emotions  are  of  a 
deeper  character  than  mere  sensuous  or 
aesthetic  ones.  An  emotional  experience  of 
a  great  deed,  a  sublime  presence,  is  worth 
more  than  sensuous  delight,  however  ex- 
quisite. Mr.  Winchester  says:  "We  may 
lay  it  down  as  a  rule,  that  those  emotions 
which  are  intimately  related  to  the  conduct 
of  life  are  of  higher  rank  than  those  which 
are  not;  and  that  consequently,  the  emo- 
tions highest  of  all  are  those  related  to  the 
deciding  forces  of  life,  the  affections  and 
the  conscience."  This  is  a  profound  truth, 
and  the  superlatively  great  books  are  those 
which  aim  to  form  and  enlarge  the  soul 
through  ethical  motives. 


38      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 


IMAGINATION 

The  faculty  which  we  call  imagination  is 
of  signal  importance.  This,  more  than  any 
other  mental  faculty,  separates  man  from 
the  brute  creation.  Perception,  memory, 
emotion,  and,  seemingly  in  some  cases, 
reason,  are  shared  by  man  and  the  lower 
animals.  Imagination  seems  to  belong  to 
man  apart,  and  among  men  themselves  it  is 
the  mental  faculty  which  most  largely  di- 
vides the  higher  and  lower  orders.  A 
trained  imagination  is  one  of  the  distin- 
guishing marks  of  scholarship  and  culture. 
It  plays  its  great  part  not  only  in  literature, 
but,  seizing  upon  the  facts  of  science,  leads 
the  mind  beyond  them  to  a  realization  of  a 
Newton's  principles,  a  Kepler's  laws,  or  a 
Darwin's  theory  of  evolution.  Without  the 
aid  of  the  imagination,  these  truths  could 
never  have  been  known.  Nothing  is  more 
practical.  The  commonest  things  we  have 
are  in  a  way  the  product  of  the  imagination. 
The  great  railroads,  that  band  the  nations 


IMAGINATION  39 

together,  existed  first  as  a  product  of  the 
imaginative  faculty  before  they  existed  in 
wood  and  steel.  The  telegraph,  telephone, 
and  the  ocean  steamer  were  first  construc- 
tive conceptions.  The  house  exists  in  the 
mind  of  the  architect  before  it  does  in  wood 
and  stone.  Imagination,  in  some  of  its 
forms,  not  only  provides  the  rapture  of  a 
"Hamlet"  or  "The  Idyls  of  the  King,"  but 
it  makes  possible  the  wonders  of  science  and 
the  comforts  of  civilization. 

The  process  of  imagination  is  more  easily 
described  than  defined.  Its  highest  func- 
tion is  to  create  new  wholes.  From  the  vast 
storehouse  of  experience  it  selects  various 
elements  and  combines  them  into  a  new 
creation.  This  new  creation  may  corre- 
spond with  something  as  it  exists.  Such 
is  the  process  when  one  who  has  never  seen 
the- Niagara  Falls  tries  to  put  together  such 
concepts  as  he  has  of  water,  falls,  rocks,  etc., 
so  as  to  get  a  mental  picture,  in  the  main, 
like  the  real  thing.  This  is  sometimes 
called  constructive  conception. 

Yet  a  far  more  common  process  of  the 


40      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

constructive  imagination  is,  not  to  repre- 
sent things  as  they  are  or  were,  but  as  they 
might  be.  As  I  look  out  of  my  window  I 
can  see  the  round,  white  dome  of  an  astro- 
nomical observatory.  I  turn  my  face  from 
it,  and  I  have  a  mental  picture  of  the 
dome  exactly  as  it  is  or  was  a  moment  ago. 
That  is  an  act  of  memory.  But  in  my 
mind  I  can  begin  and  modify  the  picture. 
I  can  make  the  dome  twice  as  high,  put 
windows  in  it,  change  its  color  to  red, 
alter  it  in  a  thousand  ways  if  I  like.  Such 
is  imagination,  —  a  representation,  not  of 
the  dome  as  it  is  or  was,  but  as  it  might 
be. 

It  is  this  same  faculty  of  constructive  im- 
agination by  which  a  Shakespeare  created 
an  "Othello"  or  a  "King  Lear."  The  im- 
agination cannot  create  an  absolutely  new 
thing.  It  must  have  materials  with  which 
to  work,  materials  furnished  by  previous 
mental  experiences.  Starting  with  a  given 
number  of  facts,  either  material  or  mental, 
it  coordinates,  recombines,  adds,  or  sub- 
tracts, until  an  ideal  is  obtained.     This  is 


IMAGINATION  41 

what  the  constructive  imagination  puts  into 
the  character,  story,  or  whatnot,  and  the 
reader,  following  it,  retraces  in  his  own 
imagination  the  new  process. 

The  imagination,  aside  from  its  construc- 
tive agency,  has  another  function  which  may 
be  called  the  associative  imagination.  This 
is  the  process  by  which  the  mind  discovers 
similarity  in  things  which,  in  the  main,  are 
unlike,  and  thus  makes  a  comparison.  It 
lies  at  the  basis  of  such  figures  of  speech  as 
the  simile,  metaphor,  and  personification. 
Oliver  Goldsmith  had  seen  some  tall  moun- 
tain lifting  its  head  above  the  storm-clouds 
which  raged  far  up  its  heights.  While  the 
storm  in  its  greatest  fury  swept  the  side  of 
the  mountain  its  top  stood  calm  and  serene 
in  the  glittering  sun,  far  above  and  undis- 
turbed by  the  turmoil  of  the  elements.  With 
this  in  mind,  he  describes  his  old  father  who, 
in  all  the  tempests  of  life,  maintained  the 
dignified  calm  of  a  great  soul.  In  giving  us 
this  description,  Goldsmith  has  created  what 
some  critics  think  is  the  finest  simile  in 
English : 


42      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

"Like  some  tall  cliff,  that  rears  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale  and  midway  leaves  the  storm, 
Though   round   its   breast   the  rolling  clouds   are 

spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head." 

It  is  the  associative  imagination  also  which 
enables  the  mind  to  interpret  lower  life  and 
inanimate  things  in  terms  of  human  life. 
The  unimaginative  mind  sees  nothing  but 
the  brute  or  the  insensate  thing.  Under  the 
spell  of  imagination  these  are  endowed  with 
human  qualities.  Characteristics  are  read 
into  them  which  touch  our  sympathies  and 
arouse  in  us  a  feeling  of  nearest  kinship  with 
all  which  that  implies.  It  is  this  faculty 
that  has  made  so  popular  the  modern  ani- 
mal stories  of  Mr.  Thompson-Seton  and 
W.  J.  Long.  It  is  also  the  faculty  that 
enabled  Lowell  to  see  far  more  in  the  little 
brook  than  a  mere  stream  encased  in  ice. 
He  beheld  a  sensate  thing,  a  conscious  archi- 
tect, endowed  with  skill  and  a  wonderful 
sense  of  the  beautiful.  When  the  chill  wind 
crept  down  from  the  mountain  peak,  covered 
with  snow  five  thousand  summers  old, 


IMAGINATION  43 

"The  little  brook  heard  it  and  built  a  roof 
'Neath  which  he  could  house  him,  winter-proof; 
All  night  by  the  white  stars'  frosty  gleams 
He  groined  his  arches  and  matched  his  beams ; 

He  sculptured  every  summer  delight 
In  his  halls  and  chambers  out  of  sight; 

and  here 
He  had  caught  the  nodding  bulrush-tops 
And  hung  them  thickly  with  diamond  drops, 
That  crystalled  the  beams  of  moon  and  sun, 
And  made  a  star  of  every  one : 
No  mortal  builder's  most  rare  device 
Could  match  this  winter  palace  of  ice." 

The  product  of  the  associative  imagina- 
tion, while  beautiful  and  pleasing,  has  never 
reached  the  sublime  merit  attained  by  that 
of  the  constructive  imagination.  All  other 
things  being  equal,  that  literature  is  the 
greatest  in  which  the  imagination  has 
created  new  and  noble  ideal  characters 
such  as  are  found  in  "Homer"  and  the 
plays  of  Shakespeare. 


44      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 


THOUGHT 

The  literary  quality  of  a  production  is 
determined  by  its  power  to  stir  the  emotions. 
In  pure  literature  this  is  the  first  result 
sought.  Poetry  and  fiction  of  this  class  seek 
primarily  to  give  pleasure,  and  yet,  when  we 
pass  beyond  the  childhood  literature  of 
rhyme  and  jingle,  thought  is  everywhere 
fundamental.  The  deep  and  sane  emotions 
are  always  based  on  fundamental  truths. 
Poetry,  the  most  emotional  of  all  literature, 
must  be  estimated  very  largely  by  its  under- 
lying thought.  "Great  books  are  always 
wise."  The  greatest  poets  are  the  men  of 
ripest  judgment,  widest  experience,  and 
keenest  insight  into  the  meaning  of  life. 
The  spirit  of  the  nineteenth  century  finds 
its  deepest  significance  in  Tennyson,  Brown- 
ing, Wordsworth,  and  Matthew  Arnold. 
The  most  profound  exponents  of  the  phi- 
losophy of  life  are  not  the  philosophers,  but 
the  Bible,  Homer,  Dante,  Shakespeare,  Mil- 
ton, and  Goethe.    Noble  emotions  presup- 


THOUGHT  45 

pose  noble  thought,  and  literary  preemi- 
nence is  dependent  upon  the  intellectual 
preeminence. 

In  testing  for  thought  the  touchstone  is 
truth,  not  fact.  Literary  thought  may  in- 
deed deal  with  facts,  as  in  Dana's  "Two 
Years  Before  the  Mast,"  Nansen's  "Farthest 
North,"  or  Stanley's  "In  Darkest  Africa." 
These  books  are  faithful  records  of  fact,  and 
they  are  at  the  same  time  notable  literature. 
However,  literature  is  not  circumscribed  by 
fact,  but,  in  the  main,  deals  with  the  larger 
term,  truth.  As  Mr.  Winchester  says,  "In 
works  designed  to  stir  the  emotions,  the 
facts  are  usually  furnished  by  the  imagina- 
tion, but  the  truths  are  those  laws  of  human 
nature  that  govern  our  affections,  passions, 
conduct,  and  determine  our  relations  to 
each  other."  In  other  words,  truth,  in  addi- 
tion to  fact,  consists  of  those  great  princi- 
ples of  life  which  the  race  has  evolved  out 
of  its  centuries  of  experience  and  exalted 
into  law.  To  question  the  facts  of  literature 
is  not  necessarily  to  impeach  its  truth.  No 
one  supposes  for  a  moment  that  the  things 


46      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

recorded  in  Shakespeare's  "Othello"  ever 
took  place.  The  underlying  thought,  how- 
ever, is  profoundly  true  and  may  be  summed 
up  in  the  statement  that  unwarranted  jeal- 
ousy, carried  to  its  logical  conclusion,  de- 
stroys not  only  the  object  of  jealousy,  but 
the  jealous  person.  Myth,  folk  lore,  and 
fairy  tale,  which  some  good  people  condemn 
absolutely  as  false,  find  their  justification 
here.  That  they  may  not  deal  at  all  with 
facts  may  be  freely  granted,  but  with  equal 
freedom  and  absolute  certainty  it  may  be 
asserted  that  they  are  true.  In  them  the 
divine  attributes  of  goodness,  courage,  jus- 
tice, beauty,  purity,  and  whatever  else  may 
belong  in  this  category,  are  eternally  tri- 
umphant. Truth,  while  embracing  fact,  is 
a  larger  term,  and  it  goes  without  saying 
that  it  is  a  sine  qua  non  of  children's  books. 
No  matter  how  deep  the  emotion  or  mar- 
vellous the  imagination,  a  book  is  valueless 
unless  its  truth  is  convincing. 


FORM  47 


FORM 


The  fourth  element  to  be  considered  in 
the  tests  for  literature  is  its  form.  This  is 
not  an  end  in  itself,  but  a  means  to  an  end. 
Its  purpose  is  to  furnish  an  adequate  ex- 
pression for  the  emotion,  imagination,  and 
thought.  It  is  not  something  to  be  deter- 
mined arbitrarily,  but  should  grow  out  of  the 
nature  of  the  material  and  the  purpose  of 
the  author.  In  the  total  estimate  of  a  pro- 
duction it  is  of  the  greatest  importance. 
Form  and  content  must  be  congruous.  Form 
may  be  compared  to  a  vehicle  of  which  emo- 
tion, imagination,  and  thought  are  the  pas- 
sengers. If  the  vehicle  is  faulty  or  breaks 
down,  the  passengers  suffer.  It  must  be  in 
keeping  with  its  burden  and  so  designed 
and  articulated  as  to  reach  the  end  of  the 
journey  in  the  most  easy,  direct,  and  satis- 
factory way.  Just  as  a  vehicle  must  be 
adapted  to  its  load,  so  must  form  be  adapted 
to  content.  The  simplicity  of  Wordsworth's 
child  poems  requires  a  diction  and  verse- 


48       LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

form  to  match  it,  while  the  majesty  and 
tremendous  sweep  of  "Paradise  Lost"  re- 
quire a  form  entirely  different.  The  su- 
premely great  literature  is  that  which  has 
great  thought,  great  imagination,  great 
emotion,  and  great  form  harmoniously  com- 
bined. Such  perfection  is  not  often  at- 
tained. It  usually  happens  that  either  some 
particular  element  overshadows  the  others, 
or  that  some  one  of  the  four  is  particularly 
weak.  This  is  often  found  true  of  the 
entire  work  of  an  author.  Browning  is 
especially  noted  for  the  depth  of  his 
thought,  Tennyson  for  his  perfection  of 
form,  Keats  for  sensuous  passion,  and 
Scott  for  imagination. 

It  is  not  within  the  plan  of  this  book  to 
enter  into  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  form. 
This  must  be  left  to  books  of  rhetoric  and 
poetics.  There  are,  however,  a  few  com- 
mon, fundamental  principles  that  must  be 
taken  into  consideration  by  every  teacher 
in  making  selections  for  school  work.  First, 
is  the  style  clear  ?  Are  the  words  chosen 
especially  for  their  aptness  and  with  a  due 


FORM  49 

reference  to  their  delicate  shades  of  mean- 
ing and  associations  ?  Is  the  content  easily 
grasped  as  soon  as  one  knows  the  meaning 
of  the  words  and  the  figures  of  speech  ? 
Are  the  grammatical  constructions  correct, 
the  sentences  clear-cut  and  logical  in  se- 
quence, the  paragraphs  unitary  and  con- 
secutive in  thought?  Second,  style  to  be 
effective  must  have  force.  It  must  stimu- 
late the  mind,  disturb  its  passivity,  give  it 
a  sort  of  shock  or  challenge.  There  must 
be  in  it  something  of  intenseness,  a  vigor 
and  impressiveness  that  carries  conviction. 
This  is  the  quality  of  style  that,  more  than 
any  other,  comes  from  character.  Its  prin- 
cipal bases  are  emotion  and  will,  and  to 
these  faculties  of  the  reader  it  makes  its 
chief  appeal.  The  third  fundamental  ele- 
ment of  form  is  beauty.  The  longing  for 
beauty  in  the  human  race  seems  almost 
as  old  and  as  strong  as  the  longing  for  love. 
In  style  it  is  just  as  universal  as  clearness 
and  force.  Its  function  is  to  give  pleasure. 
It  seeks  to  avoid  crudity,  harshness,  vul- 
garity, and  everything  that  is  offensive  to 

4 


50      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

good  taste.  Beauty  is  the  aesthetic  quality 
of  form,  and  roots  itself  in  the  imagination. 
It  is  preeminently  the  artistic  element  of  style. 

A  discussion  of  beauty  leads  at  once  into 
the  field  of  poetry.  Beauty  is  essential  to 
poetry,  but  beauty  alone  will  not  make  great 
poetry.  If  the  beauty  is  a  mere  gilding  for 
science,  ethics,  or  religion,  the  poem  suffers 
as  poetry  and  also  in  its  power  to  teach.  In 
the  highest  poetry,  truth,  goodness,  and 
beauty  co-exist  in  certain  wonderful  unity, 
and  are  not  absolute,  separate  entities,  but 
phases  of  an  absolute  essence.  Poetry  is 
interested  in  the  totality  of  life,  but  appre- 
hends it  from  the  side  of  beauty.  Its  func- 
tion is  to  provide  pleasure,  beauty,  in- 
struction, companionship  with  splendid 
personalities,  and  invigoration,  elevation, 
and  liberation  of  mind  and  soul. 

In  an  examination  of  poetry,  or  any  form 
of  literature,  language-study  is  necessarily 
preliminary.  Textual  criticism  is  often  in- 
valuable. Questions  of  date  and  author- 
ship may  be  of  great  importance.  Authors' 
lives  and  times  furnish  helpful  sidelights. 


FORM  51 

Right  standards  are  to  be  sought  in  the  laws 
of  mind  and  the  practice  of  great  poets.  As 
far  as  possible,  the  personal  equation  must 
be  eliminated.  Intelligent  criticism  demands 
appreciation,  sincerity,  sympathy,  accuracy, 
and  definiteness. 

My  experience  with  students  in  college 
and  teachers  in  the  grades  constrains  me  to 
enter  somewhat  fully  into  definitions  and 
descriptions  of  poetry  and  the  relation  of 
verse  to  substance.  The  statements  which 
follow  may  be  helpful : 

"Epic  poetry,  tragedy,  comedy,  dithy- 
rambics  are,  in  the  most  general  view  of 
them,  imitations.  The  poet  must  necessar- 
ily, when  he  imitates,  have  in  view  one  of 
these  three  objects:  he  must  represent 
things  such  as  they  were  and  are,  or  such 
as  they  are  said  to  be  and  believed  to  be. 
If  it  be  objected  to  the  poet  that  he  has 
not  represented  things  conformably  to  truth 
(fact),  he  may  answer  that  he  has  repre- 
sented them  as  they  should  be.  And  this 
is  the  proper  answer.  The  imitations  of 
poetry    should   resemble   the   paintings    of 


52      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Zcuxis;  the  example  should  be  more  per- 
fect than  nature.  It  is  not  by  writing  in 
verse  or  prose  that  the  historian  and  the 
poet  are  distinguished.  The  work  of  Herod- 
otus might  be  versified,  but  it  would  still 
be  a  species  of  history.  They  are  distin- 
guished by  this,  that  the  one  relates  what  has 
been,  the  other  what  might  be.  On  this 
account  poetry  is  a  more  philosophical  and 
a  more  excellent  thing  than  history;  for 
poetry  is  chiefly  conversant  about  gen- 
eral truth,  history  about  particular."  — 
Aristotle. 

"Poetry  is  the  breath  and  finer  spirit  of 
all  knowledge;  it  is  the  impassioned  ex- 
pression which  is  in  the  countenance  of  all 
science."  —  Wordsworth. 

Poetry  "is  an  art  of  representing,  in 
words,  external  nature  and  human  thoughts 
and  affections,  by  the  production  of  as  much 
pleasure  in  parts  as  is  compatible  with  the 
largest  sum  of  pleasure  in  the  whole;  or,  it 
is  the  art  of  communicating  whatever  we 
wish  to  communicate  so  as  both  to  express 
and  produce  excitement,  but  for  the  purpose 


FORM  53 

of  immediate  pleasure;  and  each  part  is 
fitted  to  afford  as  much  pleasure  as  is  com- 
patible with  the  largest  sum  of  pleasure  in 
the  whole."  —  Coleridge. 

"A  poet  participates  in  the  eternal,  the 
infinite,  and  the  one.  A  poem  is  the  very 
image  of  life  expressed  in  its  eternal  truth. 
Poetry  is  ever  accompanied  with  pleasure; 
all  spirits  on  which  it  falls  open  themselves 
to  receive  the  wisdom  which  is  mingled  with 
its  delight.  Poetry  is  the  record  of  the  best 
and  happiest  moments  of  the  best  and  hap- 
piest minds.  We  are  aware  of  evanescent 
visitations  of  thought  and  feeling,  elevating 
and  delightful  beyond  all  expression;  it  is, 
as  it  were,  the  interpenetration  of  a  diviner 
nature  through  our  own;  but  its  footsteps 
are  like  those  of  a  wind  over  sea,  which  the 
morning  calm  erases,  and  whose  tracks  re- 
main only  as  on  the  wrinkled  sand  which 
paves  it.  Poets  are  not  only  subject  to 
these  experiences  as  spirits  of  the  most 
refined  organization,  but  they  can  color  all 
that  they  combine  with  the  evanescent  hues 
of  the  ethereal  world.     Poetry  thus  makes 


54      LITERATURE    IN   THE   COMMON    SCHOOLS 

immortal  all  that  is  best  and  most  beautiful 
in  the  world.  Poetry  redeems  from  decay 
the  visitations  of  the  Divinity  in  man. 
Poetry  turns  all  things  to  loveliness;  it 
exalts  the  beauty  of  that  which  is  most 
beautiful,  and  it  adds  beauty  to  that  which 
is  deformed.  Its  secret  alchemy  turns  to 
potable  gold  the  poisonous  waters  which 
flow  from  death  through  life,  it  strips  the 
veil  of  familiarity  from  the  world  and  lays 
bare  the  naked  and  sleeping  beauty  which 
is  the  spirit  of  its  forms."  —  Shelley. 

Poetry  "is  the  rhythmic  creation  of 
beauty."  —  Poe. 

"Poetry  is  the  presentment,  in  musical 
form,  to  the  imagination  of  noble  grounds 
for  the  noble  emotions."  —  Ruskin. 

Poetry  is  "a  criticism  of  life  under  the 
conditions  fixed  for  such  criticism  by  the 
laws  of  poetic  truth  and  poetic  beauty."  — 
Matthew  Arnold. 

"Poetry  may  be  considered  to  be  the  gift 
of  moving  the  affections  through  the  im- 
agination, and  its  object  to  be  the  beauti- 
ful." —  Newman. 


FORM  55 

"Absolute  poetry  is  rhythmical,  imagina- 
tive language,  expressing  the  invention, 
taste,  thought,  passion,  and  insight  of  the 
human  soul."  —  Stedman. 

"Poetry  is  a  representation  and  interpre- 
tation in  language  of  life  viewed  in  its 
unity,  but  from  the  standpoint  of  beauty, 
and  is  therefore  ideal,  imaginative,  passion- 
ate, concrete,  in  structure  unitary,  in  expres- 
sion beautiful  and  musical."  —  Bronson. 

The  language  of  poetry  should  be  natural, 
that  is,  suited  to  the  thought  and  feeling. 
In  determining  what  language  is  suited  to 
the  thought  and  feeling,  the  broad,  general 
standard  is  the  language  of  real  life.  The 
reason  for  this  is,  that  poetry,  in  the  broadest 
view  of  it,  is  a  representation  of  real  life  by 
means  of  language.  Hence,  if  a  poet's  rep- 
resentation of  life  is  to  be  natural,  his  lan- 
guage must  conform  to  the  language  of  real 
life.  "If  the  poet's  subject  be  judiciously 
chosen,  it  will  naturally,  and  upon  fit  occa- 
sion, lead  him  to  passions,  the  language  of 
which,  if  selected  truly  and  judiciously, 
must  necessarily  be  dignified  and  variegated, 


56      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

and  alive  with  metaphors  and  figures."  — 
Wordsworth. 

Since  poetry  is  an  artistic  representation 
of  life,  with  a  purpose  to  give  pleasure  and 
to  reveal  the  ideal  in  the  actual,  the  law  of 
realism  is  modified  by  the  art-law  of  ideal- 
ism. The  poet  may  modify  the  language 
of  real  life  negatively  by  rejecting  unpleas- 
ant expressions ;  positively,  by  using  meter, 
rhyme,  and  " poetic"  language.  Just  how 
far  this  modification  of  the  language  of  real 
life  may  be  carried  legitimately  cannot  be 
determined  by  rigid  rules.  Much  depends 
upon  the  type  of  the  poem  and  the  degree  of 
idealism  aimed  at.  But  it  is  a  manifest  fault 
when  certain  modes  of  expression  harden 
into  a  conventional  "poetic"  style.  Such  a 
style  violates  the  fundamental  law  of  artistic 
expression,  namely,  that  form  should  be 
determined  from  within,  by  the  spirit  of  the 
work,  and  not  be  mechanically  imposed 
from  without.  Poetical  language  as  a  whole 
depends  upon  the  thought  and  feeling  with 
which  it  is  charged,  but  the  poetry  of  indi- 
vidual words  varies  according  to  their  sound 


FORM  57 

and  their  associations.  Not  infrequently  an 
expression,  prosaic  by  itself,  may  contribute 
to  the  poetical  tone  of  the  poem  as  a  whole 
by  heightening  the  homely  realism  which  is 
the  basis  of  the  poem's  peculiar  effect. 

In  the  total  effect  of  a  poem  sound  plays 
an  important  part.  Rhyme  is  a  partial 
identity  of  sound  in  two  or  more  words  or 
syllables  and  is  most  common  at  the  end  of 
lines.  In  rhyming  lines  the  last  verse- 
accented  vowels  and  all  the  sounds  that 
follow  them  are  identical;  of  the  initial 
consonants  in  the  last  verse-accented  sylla- 
bles, at  least  one  must  be  different.  Allit- 
eration is  the  repetition  of  the  same  sound, 
usually  a  consonant,  at  the  beginning  of 
syllables.  It  is  noticeable  in  proportion  to 
the  strength  of  the  sounds  and  the  number 
and  frequency  of  the  repetitions. 

Latin  poetry  is  not  measured  like  English 
by  accent  and  rhyme,  but  by  the  length  of 
its  syllables.  Each  syllable  is  counted  as 
long  or  short  in  "quantity"  and  a  long  sylla- 
ble is  equal  in  length  to  two  short  ones. 
Quantity  plays  a  subordinate  part  in  Eng- 


58      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

lish  verse.  Syllables  vary  in  length  accord- 
ing to  the  length  and  number  of  their  vowels 
and  consonants,  as,  go,  on,  far,  fat,  boot,  but, 
fine,  fin,  crunch,  cut,  etc.  Tone-color  is  the 
quality  of  sounds,  due  to  their  overtones. 
Both  vowels  and  consonants  differ  from 
each  other  in  fullness,  richness,  depth,  and 
pleasantness  of  sound.  All  these  heighten 
the  poetical  effect.  They  are  forms  of  beauty, 
and  beauty  is  the  atmosphere  of  poetry. 

A  peculiar  fitness  of  verse  to  substance  is 
often  found : 

Long  stanzas  are  adapted  to  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  long  sweep  or  pulse;  complex 
stanzas,  to  complex  or  ornate  substance; 
short,  simple  stanzas  fit  simplicity  of  thought. 

Run-on  lines  express  impetuosity,  ease, 
and  freedom. 

Long  lines  give  a  sense  of  continuance, 
majesty,  dragging  hopelessness,  etc. 

Short  lines  suggest  strength,  —  grimness, 
stabs,  blows,  etc. ;  weakness,  —  littleness, 
plaintiveness,  sob-like  agony,  etc. ;  and 
fluctuation,  —  fickleness,  distraction,  spright- 
liness,  etc. 


FORM  59 

Quick  lines  suggest  haste,  rapidity,  fear, 
joy,  etc. ;  slow  lines  denote  deliberation, 
majesty,  sublimity,  heavy  sorrow,  ponder- 
ous strength,  etc.  The  movement  of  lines 
depends  upon  the  quantity  of  syllables,  com- 
binations of  vowels  and  consonants,  group- 
ing of  accents,  etc. 

Accent  on  the  first  syllable  of  a  line  sug- 
gests eagerness,  suddenness,  emphasis,  etc. 

Extra  syllables  at  the  beginning  of  a  line 
suggest  haste,  animation,  etc. ;  at  the  end  of 
a  line,  playfulness,  delicacy,  pity,  etc. 

The  lower  vowels,  aw,  oo,  o,  etc.,  express 
"solemnity,  horror,  deep  grief,  slowness  of 
motion  and  great  size."  Vowels  higher  in 
the  scale,  i,  e,  a,  express  "joy,  gaiety,  trivi- 
ality, rapid  movement,  delicacy,  and  phy- 
sical littleness."  P,  t,  and  k  express  "un- 
expectedness, vigor,  explosive  passion  and 
startling  effects  of  all  kinds;  z  and  zh  are 
rich,  pleasant  colors."  Smooth  I  and  r  are 
used  for  "  smoothness,  softness,  liquidity, 
lingering,  and  love."  S,  sh,  h  and  wh  ex- 
press "fear,  secrecy,  deception,  caution,  and 
mystery." 


60      LITERATURE   IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Rhyme  heightens  the  music,  color  and 
ornamentation  in  general.  Hence,  it  is 
adapted  to  lyrics,  sentimental,  fanciful,  and 
merely  beautiful  subjects. 

Blank  verse  is  more  majestic,  free,  and 
plain.  Therefore,  it  is  better  adapted  to 
epic,  dramatic,  and  reflective  poetry. 

Verse  is  distinguished  from  prose  by  a 
certain  regularity  of  movement,  called 
rhythm,  or  meter.  "Rhythm,  in  its  most 
comprehensive  sense,  is  the  recurrence  of 
similar  phenomena  at  regular  intervals  of 
space  or  time."  In  English  verse,  rhythm  is 
secured  by  the  regular  recurrence  of  accents. 

Verse  is  further  distinguished  from  prose 
by  division  into  lines,  or  verses,  whose 
length  is  governed  by  some  law  of  corres- 
pondence. The  unit  of  the  line  is  the  foot. 
The  principal  kinds  of  feet  are  illustrated 
by  the  following  words: 

Iambus  —  before;  trochee  —  after;  ana- 
pest —  heretofore;  dactyl  —  rapidly;  spon- 
dee —  gold-crowned;  pyrrhic  —  in  the; 
amphibrach  —  endurance;  amphimacer  — 
nip-and-tuck. 


FORM  61 

A  caesura  is  a  pause  for  metrical  effect  in- 
side a.  line.  A  line  may  have  one,  two,  or 
more  caesuras,  or  it  may  have  none. 

The  nature  of  a  line  depends  upon  the 
kind  and  number  of  its  feet.  As  determined 
by  the  kind  of  feet,  lines  are  iambic,  trochaic, 
anapestic,  dactylic,  etc.  As  determined  by 
the  number  of  feet,  lines  are  monometer, 
(one  foot),  diameter  (two  feet),  trimeter 
(three  feet),  tetrameter  or  quadrimeter  (four 
feet),  pentameter  (five  feet),  hexameter  (six 
feet),  heptameter  (seven  feet),  octameter 
(eight  feet).  By  combination  we  have, 
iambic  trimeter,  trochaic  tetrameter,  etc. 

A  stanza  is  a  group  of  lines  bound  to- 
gether into  some  degree  of  unity  by  some  law 
of  form.  The  nature  of  a  stanza  depends 
upon  the  number,  arrangement,  and  length 
of  its  lines.  Some  of  the  most  common 
stanzas  are  the  couplet,  triplet,  quatrain, 
rhyme  royal,  ottava  rima,  and  Spenserian.1 

1  For  further  details,  consult  "English  Versification,"  by 
James  C.  Parsons,  published  by  Sibley  &  Co.,  Boston. 


62       LITERATURE    IN    THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

APPLICATION    OF    TESTS 

The  practical  application  of  literary  tests 
is  the  measure  of  their  value.  Suppose  that 
Longfellow's  "Song  of  Hiawatha"  lies  be- 
fore us  for  the  first  time  and  we  wish  to  de- 
termine its  literary  worth  and  its  fitness  for 
school  work.  Let  us  examine  a  part  of  the 
third  chapter,  "Hiawatha's  Childhood,"  }  be- 
ginning with  line  sixty-four  and  continuing 
to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Applying  first  the 
tests  for  emotion,  we  find  the  following  stand 
out  with  more  or  less  prominence : 

1.    Wonder.    Lines  64-73: 

"By  the  shores  of  Gitche  Gumee, 
By  the  shining  Big-Sea- Water, 
Stood  the  wigwam  of  Nokomis, 
Daughter  of  the  Moon,  Nokomis. 
Dark  behind  it  rose  the  forest, 
Rose  the  black  and  gloomy  pine-trees, 
Rose  the  firs  with  cones  upon  them; 
Bright  before  it  beat  the  water, 
Beat  the  clear  and  sunny  water, 
Beat  the  shining  Big-Sea- Water. 

1  By  permission  of  Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  the  author- 
ized publishers  of  Mr.  Longfellow's  works. 


APPLICATION    OF    TESTS  63 

2.  Fear.     Lines  74-85: 

"There  the  wrinkled  old  Nokomis 
Nursed  the  little  Hiawatha, 
Rocked  him  in  his  linden  cradle, 
Bedded  soft  in  moss  and  rushes, 
Safely  bound  with  reindeer  sinews; 
Stilled  his  fretful  wail  by  saying, 
'  Hush  !  the  Naked  Bear  will  hear  thee  ! ' 
Lulled  him  into  slumber,  singing, 
'Ewa-yea!  my  little  owlet!' 

3.  Mystery.     Lines  86-97: 

"Many  things  Nokomis  taught  him 
Of  the  stars  that  shine  in  heaven ; 
Showed  him  Ishkoodah,  the  comet, 
Ishkoodah  with  fiery  tresses; 
Showed  the  Death-Dance  of  the  spirits, 
Warriors  with  their  plumes  and  war-clubs, 
Flaring  far  away  to  northward 
In  the  frosty  nights  of  winter ; 
Showed  the  broad  white  road  in  heaven, 
Pathway  of  the  ghosts,  the  shadows, 
Running  straight  across  the  heavens 
Crowded  with  the  ghosts,  the  shadows. 

4.  Peace.     Lines  98-110: 

"At  the  door  on  summer  evenings 
Sat  the  little  Hiawatha; 
Heard  the  whispering  of  the  pine-trees, 


64      LITERATURE    IN  THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Heard  the  lapping  of  the  waters, 
Sounds  of  music,  words  of  wonder; 
'Minne-wawa !'  said  the  pine-trees. 
'Mudway-aushka !'  said  the  water. 
Saw  the  fire-fly,  Wah-wah-taysee, 
Flitting  through  the  dusk  of  evening, 
With  the  twinkle  of  his  candle 
Lighting  up  the  brakes  and  bushes, 
And  he  sang  the  song  of  children, 
Sang  the  song  Nokomis  taught  him: 

5.  Joij.     Lines  111-116: 

"  '  Wah-wah-taysee,  little  fire-fly, 
Little,  flitting,  white-fire  insect, 
Little,  dancing,  white-fire  creature, 
Light  me  with  your  little  candle, 
Ere  upon  my  bed  I  lay  me, 
Ere  in  sleep  I  close  my  eyelids  ! ' 

6.  Wonder  and  mystery.    Lines  117-135: 

"Saw  the  moon  rise  from  the  water 
Rippling,  rounding  from  the  water, 
Saw  the  flecks  and  shadows  on  it, 
Whispered,  'What  is  that,  Nokomis?' 
And  the  good  Nokomis  answered: 
'Once  a  warrior,  very  angry, 
Seized  his  grandmother  and  threw  her 
Up  into  the  sky  at  midnight; 
Right  against  the  moon  he  threw  her; 
'T  is  her  body  that  you  see  there.' 


APPLICATION    OF    TESTS  65 

Saw  the  rainbow  in  the  heaven, 

In  the  eastern  sky,  the  rainbow, 

Whispered,  'What  is  that,  Nokomis?' 

And  the  good  Nokomis  answered : 

'  'T  is  the  heaven  of  flowers  you  see  there ; 

All  the  wild-flowers  of  the  forest, 

All  the  lilies  of  the  prairie, 

When  on  earth  they  fade  and  perish, 

Blossom  in  that  heaven  above  us.' 

7.  Terror.     Lines  136-143: 

"When  he  heard  the  owls  at  midnight, 
Hooting,  laughing  in  the  forest, 
'  What  is  that  ? '  he  cried  in  terror, 
'What  is  that,'  he  said,  'Nokomis?' 
And  the  good  Nokomis  answered: 
'That  is  but  the  owl  and  owlet, 
Talking  in  their  native  language, 
Talking,  scolding  at  each  other.' 

8.  Kinship   with  animals.     Lines    144- 
158: 

"Then  the  little  Hiawatha 
Learned  of  every  bird  its  language, 
Learned  their  names  and  all  their  secrets, 
How  they  built  their  nests  in  summer, 
Where  they  hid  themselves  in  winter, 
Talked  with  them  whene'er  he  met  them, 
Called  them  'Hiawatha's  Chickens.' 
5 


66      LITERATURE    IN    THE   COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Of  all  beasts  he  learned  the  language, 
Learned  their  names  and  all  their  secrets, 
How  the  beavers  built  their  lodges, 
Where  the  squirrels  hid  their  acorns, 
How  the  reindeer  ran  so  swiftly, 
Why  the  rabbit  was  so  timid, 
Talked  with  them  whene'er  he  met  them, 
Called  them  '  Hiawatha's  Brothers.* 

9.  Expectancy.     Lines  159-172: 

"Then  Iagoo,  the  great  boaster, 
He  the  marvellous  story-teller, 
He  the  traveller  and  the  talker, 
He  the  friend  of  old  Nokomis, 
Made  a  bow  for  Hiawatha; 
From  a  branch  of  ash  he  made  it, 
From  an  oak-bough  made  the  arrows, 
Tipped  with  flint,  and  winged  with  feathers, 
And  the  cord  he  made  of  deer-skin. 

Then  he  said  to  Hiawatha: 
'Go,  my  son,  into  the  forest, 
Where  the  red  deer  herd  together, 
Kill  for  us  a  famous  roebuck, 
Kill  for  us  a  deer  with  antlers ! ' 

10.  Pride.    Lines  173-175 : 

"Forth  into  the  forest  straightway 
All  alone  walked  Hiawatha, 
Proudly  with  his  bow  and  arrows; 


APPLICATION    OF    TESTS  07 

11.  Trust  and  pure  delight.     Lines  17G- 
192: 

"And  the  birds  sang  round  him,  o'er  him, 
'Do  not  shoot  us,  Hiawatha!' 
Sang  the  robin,  the  Opechee, 
Sang  the  bluebird,  the  Owaissa, 
'Do  not  shoot  us,  Hiawatha!' 
Up  the  oak-tree,  close  beside  him, 
Sprang  the  squirrel,  Adjidaumo, 
In  and  out  among  the  branches, 
Coughed  and  chattered  from  the  oak-tree, 
Laughed  and  said  between  his  laughing, 
'  Do  not  shoot  me,  Hiawatha  ! ' 
And  the  rabbit  from  his  pathway 
Leaped  aside,  and  at  a  distance 
Sat  erect  upon  his  haunches, 
Half  in  fear  and  half  in  frolic, 
Saying  to  the  little  hunter, 
'  Do  not  shoot  me,  Hiawatha ! ' 

12.  Concentration.     Lines  193-198 : 

"But  he  heeded  not,  nor  heard  them, 
For  his  thoughts  were  with  the  red  deer; 
On  their  tracks  his  eyes  were  fastened, 
Leading  downward  to  the  river, 
And  as  one  in  slumber  walked  he. 

13.  Suspense.     Lines  199-219 : 

"Hidden  in  the  alder-bushes, 
There  he  waited  till  the  deer  came, 


68      LITERATURE    IN   THE   COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Till  he  saw  two  antlers  lifted, 
Saw  two  eyes  look  from  the  thicket, 
Saw  two  nostrils  point  to  windward, 
Flecked  with  leafy  light  and  shadow. 
And  his  heart  within  him  fluttered, 
Trembled  like  the  leaves  above  him, 
Like  the  birch-leaf  palpitated, 
As  the  deer  came  down  the  pathway. 

Then,  upon  one  knee  uprising, 
Hiawatha  aimed  an  arrow; 
Scarce  a  twig  moved  with  his  motion, 
Scarce  a  leaf  was  stirred  or  rustled, 
But  the  wary  roebuck  started, 
Stamped  with  all  his  hoofs  together, 
Listened  with  one  foot  uplifted, 
Leaped  as  if  to  meet  the  arrow; 
Ah !  the  singing,  fatal  arrow ; 
Like  a  wasp  it  buzzed  and  stung  him ! 

14.  Pity.     Lines  220-222 : 

"Dead  he  lay  there  in  the  forest, 
By  the  ford  across  the  river; 
Beat  his  timid  heart  no  longer. 

15.  Exultation.     Lines  223-227: 

"But  the  heart  of  Hiawatha 
Throbbed  and  shouted  and  exulted, 
As  he  bore  the  red  deer  homeward, 
And  Iagoo  and  Nokomis 
Hailed  his  coming  with  applauses. 


APPLICATION   OF    TESTS  69 

16.    Approbation.     Lines  228-235  : 

"From  the  red  deer's  hide  Nokomis 
Made  a  cloak  for  Hiawatha, 
From  the  red  deer's  flesh  Nokomis 
Made  a  banquet  in  his  honor. 
All  the  village  came  and  feasted, 
All  the  guests  praised  Hiawatha, 
Call  him  Strong-Heart,  Soan-ge-taha  ! 
Call  him  Loon-Heart,  Mahn-go-taysee !  " 

Judged  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
emotions,  this  little  bit  of  Hiawatha  is 
noteworthy.  The  range  and  variety  are  re- 
markable. There  are  at  least  sixteen  dif- 
ferent central  emotions,  some  of  which 
shade  off  into  others  not  so  clearly  defined. 
These  primal  feelings  are  of  the  highest 
rank.  They  are  universal,  as  equally  an 
elemental  part  of  the  emotional  life  of  the 
white  child  as  of  the  Indian.  Out  of  won- 
der and  mystery  is  born  intellectual  curiosity. 
Through  the  feeling  of  kinship  with  animals 
is  generated  the  principle  of  altruism.  Pride 
and  approbation  stimulate  to  worthy  effort. 
Fear  and  terror,  lurking  in  each  soul,  a  heri- 
tage   of    the    far-away    savage    and    cave- 


70      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

dweller,  are  aroused,  only  to  be  allayed  by 
the  skilful  old  Nokomis.  The  whispering 
pine-trees,  the  lapping  waters,  and  the  flitting 
firefly,  the  trust  of  squirrel  and  opechee, 
speak  of  a  peace  and  joy  as  calm  and  ele- 
mental as  mother  nature  herself.  There  are 
no  more  healthful  emotions  of  the  child  than 
these,  and  the  vividness  with  which  they 
appeal  even  to  adults,  is  scarcely  surpassed. 
Their  continuity  is  unbroken  and  there  is 
not  a  moment  in  which  the  soul  is  not  pulsing 
with  some  passion. 

The  exercise  of  the  imagination  is  hardly 
less  wonderful  than  that  of  the  feelings.  All 
forms  are  found,  especially  the  constructive. 
The  mind  is  asked  to  create  a  series  of  pic- 
tures, corresponding,  in  the  main,  to  the 
scenes  and  events  in  Hiawatha's  childhood. 
This  it  is  asked  to  do  by  combining  and 
modifying  the  great  mass  of  material  which 
every  healthy  boy  and  girl  of  six  or  seven 
years  has  acquired.  Nature  is  much  the 
same  everywhere,  and  childhood  experience 
and  concepts  have  a  large  common  element 
in  all  races.    Under  the  stimulating  efforts  of 


APPLICATION    OF   TESTS  71 

the  creative  imagination  there  may  be  seen 
as  vividly  as  in  real  life  the  wigwam  and  its 
domestic  life,  the  dark  forest,  the  shining 
water,  "Ishkoodah  with  fiery  tresses,"  the 
pathway  of  the  ghosts,  the  animals  of  the 
forest,  the  hunting  of  the  deer,  and  the  ban- 
quet. Nor  are  these  merely  individual 
creations  but  they  are  blended  into  a  whole, 
a  conception  of  the  totality  of  the  child- 
hood of  Hiawatha,  a  sense  of  unity  and 
completeness. 

Neither  are  the  associative  forms  of  the 
imagination  lacking.  The  northern  lights 
are  the  death-dance  of  the  spirits ;  the  milky 
way  is  the  pathway  of  the  ghosts ;  the  flecks 
and  shadows  of  the  moon  are  the  body  of 
the  angry  warrior's  grandmother;  the  rain- 
bow is  the  heaven  of  flowers ;  these  are  some 
of  the  most  vivid  metaphors. 

Personification  is  also  prominent.  The 
owl  and  owlet  talk  and  scold ;  the  birds  are 
Hiawatha's  chickens  and  the  beasts  are  his 
brothers;  the  bluebird  and  the  robin  ask 
him  not  to  shoot  them ;  and  the  squirrel  and 
rabbit   are   humanized.     This   is   what   is 


72      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

sometimes  called  the  "interpretative  imag- 
ination,''  that  insight  by  which  it  attributes 
human  qualities  to  inanimate  things  and  the 
lower  forms  of  life. 

An  examination  of  the  thought  shows 
that  it  represents  truth  and  not  fact.  From 
many  records  of  established  fact  we  know 
what  the  Indian's  life  is  like.  We  are  well 
acquainted  with  his  wigwam,  domestic  ar- 
rangements, clothing,  hunting  implements, 
and  childlike  habits  of  thought.  The 
various  incidents  of  the  lines  quoted  may 
very  well  correspond  to  things  exactly  as 
they,  at  various  times  and  in  various  places, 
have  happened.  But  that  they  are  all  as 
here  set  down  part  of  the  real  experiences  of 
a  real  Indian  boy  called  Hiawatha,  neither 
Longfellow,  nor  anyone  else  ever  sup- 
posed. In  that  sense  they  do  not  represent 
fact  at  all.  The  whole  thing  is  an  idealized 
representation  of  Indian  life  and  is  true  to 
its  spirit.  It  stands  for  truth  in  a  far  deeper 
and  broader  sense  than  any  mere  repre- 
sentation of  fact.  Things  are  represented  in 
causal  relationship  and  logical  perspective. 


APPLICATION    OF   TESTS  73 

The  individual  facts  of  life  are  in  a  way 
fragmentary  and  it  is  only  when  they  are 
seen  in  their  totality,  and  spiritually  inter- 
preted, that  the  meaning  of  life  is  discovered. 
Mental  processes,  motives  of  conduct,  and 
the  principles  of  living,  are  laid  bare,  and 
truth  in  its  largest  and  best  sense  appears. 
Such  is  the  thought  in  this  bit  of  Hiawatha. 

The  fourth  element,  form,  is  in  its  sphere 
as  remarkable  as  the  other  three.  The 
thought,  imagination,  and  emotion  are  those 
of  a  childlike  race,  and  the  form  shows  its 
outgrowth  from  them.  It  is  not  original 
with  Longfellow,  but  is  imitated  from  the 
Kalevala,  the  Finnish  epic.  This  is  a  prim- 
itive song  and  was  composed  during  the 
childhood  of  the  race  and  is  the  natural  ex- 
pression of  people  at  that  stage  of  develop- 
ment. Poetry  always  precedes  prose  and, 
in  primitive  life,  is  not  far  removed  from 
every  day  speech.  Certain  elements  in 
them  are  common  and  universal.  Poetry  is 
naturally  the  speech  of  childhood  races. 

The  primitive  mind  projects  itself  into 
everything.     This   is   reflected   in   the  fine 


74      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

personifications  of  the  comet  as  Ishkoodah, 
with  fiery  tresses;  the  milky  way  as  the 
pathway  of  the  ghosts;  the  rainbow  as  the 
heaven  of  flowers ;  and  the  little  animals  as 
Hiawatha's  brothers. 

The  style,  full  of  descriptions  of  nature, 
its  easy,  rapid  verses  and  simple  rhythm, 
the  abundance  of  Indian  dialect  and  names, 
its  half-dramatic  manner,  —  all  these  re- 
flect the  artistic  simplicity  of  the  poem, 
fragrant  with  woods  and  meadows,  fresh 
with  sky  and  water,  breezy  with  north  and 
west  winds,  mellowed  by  the  myths  of  an 
untutored  race.  Even  the  monotonous 
effect  which  a  long  reading  in  it  produces, 
re-echoes  the  long-drawn-out  chant  of  the 
mystic  ceremonies,  the  measured  tramping 
of  feet  in  the  dance,  and  the  continuous 
beating  of  the  tom-tom.  The  intellectual 
and  emotional  qualities  of  the  whole  thing 
are  made  fascinating 

"With  the  odors  of  the  forest, 
With  the  dews  and  damps  of  meadows, 
With  the  curling  smoke  of  wigwams, 
With  the  rushing  of  great  rivers." 


TRIBUTARIES  OF  THE  LITERARY  STREAM      15 

These  qualities  are  mimicked  by  the  form. 
"The  short  phrases  and  simple  sentences, 
the  frequent  repetitions  and  parallelisms, 
the  quick  trochaic  movement,  the  absence 
of  rhyme  or  stanza,  suggest  the  childlike 
character  of  these  legends,  and  the  sway- 
ing boughs,  quivering  leaves,  and  leaping 
brooks  the  music  of  which  they  were  first 
narrated.  — Bronson. 

A  review  of  the  tests  made  reaches  the 
conclusion  that  this  is  literature  of  the  high- 
est rank  and  especially  suited  to  children. 
Some  such  test  as  this  can  be  applied  to  any 
piece  of  writing  and  should  be  done  before 
it  is  offered  as  school  work.  Only  that  which 
is  best  and  suitable  should  be  given  to 
children. 


TRIBUTARIES   OF  THE   LITERARY 
STREAM 

Literature  may  be  likened  to  a  mighty, 
flowing  river.  Its  source  lies  closely  hidden 
in  the  dark  kingdom  of  savage  man.     In- 


76      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

numerable  tributaries  have  swelled  its  bur- 
den, some  so  insignificant  that  they  are  en- 
tirely lost  in  the  parent  stream.  Others 
there  are  of  such  magnitude  that  their  waters 
have  left  a  permanent  tinge  on  the  great 
current.    Of  these  I  wish  to  speak  briefly. 

First  of  all  in  importance  is  the  King 
James  Version  of  the  Bible.  Any  study  of 
English  literature  worthy  the  name  must 
take  this  book  into  account.  It  is  indispen- 
sable, —  it  is  not  possible  to  omit  it.  Our 
language  is  thoroughly  saturated  with  in- 
numerable references  to  it.  We  meet  at 
every  turn  such  expressions  as  "Joshua's 
moon,"  "Aaron's  rod,"  "the  driving  of 
Jehu,"  "the  grapes  of  Canaan,"  "another 
Golgotha,"  "a  mess  of  pottage,"  "a  Joseph," 
"the  fiery  furnace,"  "the  still,  small  voice," 
"the  prodigal  son,"  "the  brazen  serpent," 
etc.  It  is  practically  impossible  to  read  even 
our  simplest  prose  and  poetry  without  a 
tolerably  wide  and  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  Bible. 

The  fabric  of  English  thought  is  so  inter- 
woven with  the  golden  threads  of  the  Bible 


TRIBUTARIES  OF  THE  LITERARY  STREAM     77 

that  it  is  not  possible  to  remove  them  with- 
out destroying  the  fabric.  This  wonderful 
book  has  shaped  the  faith  and  thought  of 
Europe  and  America.  It  is  the  foundation 
of  our  intellectual  heritage.  Its  power  to 
move  the  imagination  and  stir  the  emotions 
is  unsurpassed.  This  power  does  not  lie 
within  the  religious  sphere  alone,  but  non- 
religious  men  find  in  it  a  marvelous  uplift, 
and  unbelievers  testify  to  its  greatness.  Its 
message  is  to  the  simple  and  the  learned 
alike.  For  generations,  especially  in  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  it  was 
the  one  book  of  most  households.  Its  aus- 
tere simplicity  and  terrible  earnestness 
burned  themselves  into  the  language,  the 
thought,  and  the  spirit  of  English-speaking 
peoples.  Mr.  Gardner,  in  "The  Bible  as 
English  Literature,"  aptly  says:  "The 
silent,  unhurrying  rumination  of  the  East 
makes  our  modern  flood  of  literature  seem 
garrulous  and  chattering.  ...  It  has  no 
pride  of  art,  no  interest  in  the  subjective 
impressions  of  the  writer,  no  care  even  for 
the  preservation  of  his  name." 


78      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

As  a  literary  production,  the  King  James 
Version  is  the  most  important  prose  compo- 
sition in  English.  It  is  a  classic,  flashing 
with  splendor.  As  English  prose,  it  is  the 
most  idiomatic  and  virile  in  the  language,  — 
the  ultimate  standard. 

Children  should  be  taught  to  read  the 
Bible  with  intelligence  and  with  delight. 
It  is  naturally  attractive,  and  should  be 
made  so  in  study.  It  is  full  of  great  stories, 
beautiful  poetry,  fascinating  biography,  and 
at  least  one  magnificent  drama.  If  properly 
presented,  these  are  the  delight  of  children 
because  they  are  full  of  fancy  and  move- 
ment. To  know  and  love  them  is  a  part  of 
their  birthright,  and  they  must  be  acquainted 
with  the  finer  portions  in  order  to  be  appre- 
ciative readers  of  our  literature. 

A  second  great  tributary  of  the  stream  is 
folk  lore.  Its  tales,  like  the  Bible,  are  so 
inextricably  interwoven  into  our  thought 
and  language  that  they  cannot  be  removed. 
They  are  the  products  of  the  infancy  of  the 
race  and  make  their  appeal  forever  to  child- 
hood.    The  common  stock  of  the  imagina- 


TRIBUTARIES  OF  THE  LITERARY  STREAM    79 

tion  and  emotion  of  humanity  is  found  in 
them.  They  bring  children  face  to  face  with 
human  experience  in  its  infancy.  This 
primal  atmosphere  is  like  that  in  which  the 
child  six  or  seven  years  old  is  living.  He 
turns  all  things  into  wonderful  creations.  A 
broomstick  becomes  a  horse,  and  he  has  no 
trouble  in  hearing  birus  and  beasts  talk. 

These  folk  tales  do  not  teach  the  child  un- 
truth. Far  back  in  his  mind  he  knows  these 
stories  are  not  realities  and  he  may  be 
frankly  told  so.  They  bear  the  same  relation 
to  fact  and  truth  that  the  great  novels  of 
Scott  and  Hawtho.ne  do.  We  demand  this 
sort  of  thing  for  adults  dsid  it  is  absolutely 
illogical  to  shut  the  child  up  to  the  hard  facts 
and  realities  of  life.  Moreover,  if  he  I ;  to  be 
an  intelligent  reader,  he  must  sooner  or 
later  make  the  acquaintance  of  a  large  body 
of  this  material.  If  this  acquaintance  is  put 
beyond  the  years  of  childhood,  there  is  an 
immense  loss  of  time,  energy,  and 
pleasure. 

These  stories  also  embody  the  profound- 
est  moral  elements  of  the  race.    They  point 


80      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

out  the  struggle  against  pride,  greed,  selfish- 
ness, cowardice,  etc.  The  help  of  fairies  is 
never  given  to  the  wicked  and  the  lazy.  Ar- 
rogance and  selfishness  invariably  come  to 
grief.  There  is  a  clear  outcome  for  every 
deed.  The  child  has  a  concrete  sense  of 
right  and  wrong.  This  need  is  met  and 
satisfied  by  the  concrete  illustration  of  fairy 
tales.  The  action  is  clearly  defined.  The 
emotions  and  motives  are  simple  and  funda- 
mental. There  are  hardships  to  be  endured, 
wicked  foes  and  cruel  giants  to  be  overcome. 
Fairies  and  friendly  beasts  give  aid.  Noth- 
ing is  too  small  or  insignificant  to  be  taken 
into  account.  Even  a  Tom  Thumb  can  do 
something  and  a  cat  made  Whittington's 
fortune. 

There  is  a  wonderful  democracy,  too, 
about  these  tales.  The  true  dignity  of  people, 
as  such,  is  prominent.  It  is  a  real  acquaint- 
ance that  the  child  gets  with  the  henwife, 
the  cowherd,  the  tailor,  the  miller,  and  the 
rest.  They  form  a  real  world  with  real 
people  in  it.  Kings  and  queens  are  also  in 
this   democracy.      One   may   stand   in   the 


TRIBUTARIES   OF  THE  LITERARY  STREAM     81 

presence  of  the  king  counting  his  money, 
and  see  the  queen  baking  tarts. 

Fairy  tales  foster  a  love  and  sympathy  for 
animals.  They  are  full  of  animal  life.  The 
relation  between  man  and  animals  is  very 
close  and  very  free.  This  is  the  primitive 
man's  idea.  All  are  from  a  common  stock. 
Certain  Indian  tribes  believe  their  ancestors 
were  antelopes  or  wolves,  or  some  animals. 
In  late  years  the  animal  stories  have  had  a 
wonderful  vogue,  but  even  the  best  of  them 
are  not  comparable  to  the  old  tales  such  as 
"Reynard  the  Fox." 

On  the  imaginative  side  these  old  tales 
seek  to  harmonize  the  realities  of  the  world. 
The  play  of  fancy  is  most  free  and  pleasure- 
able.  Dark  and  mysterious  nature  is  over- 
come by  genii,  giants,  and  fairies.  Man  is 
made  master  of  the  powers  of  darkness. 
The  same  wonderful  fancy  of  primitive  folk 
anticipated  in  some  part  the  marvellous 
constructive  conception  which  has  revealed 
the  mysteries  of  modern  science.  And  how 
foolish  to  cavil  at  the  fancies  of  fairy  tales 
and  accept,  as  we  must,  such  wonders  as  the 

6 


82      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

wireless  telephone  and  telegraph !  The 
scientific  world  of  to-day  is  no  more  to  be 
understood  without  the  aid  of  the  imagina- 
tion than  was  the  world  of  primitive  man. 

Mr.  Hamilton  W.  Mabie  aptly  says: 
"The  fairy  tale  belongs  to  the  child  and 
ought  always  to  be  within  his  reach,  not  only 
because  it  is  his  special  literary  form  and  his 
nature  craves  it,  but  because  it  is  one  of  the 
most  vital  of  the  text-books  offered  to  him 
in  the  school  of  life.  In  ultimate  importance 
it  outranks  the  arithmetic,  the  grammar,  the 
geography,  the  manuals  of  science;  for 
without  the  aid  of  the  imagination  none  of 
these  books  is  really  comprehensible." 

A  third  tributary,  itself  a  mighty  river, 
are  the  myths  and  legends  of  the  Greek,  the 
Roman,  the  Teuton,  and  the  Indian.  Like 
the  Bible  and  fairy  tale,  these  have  become 
an  inseparable  part  of  our  literature  and  are 
held  by  it  as  in  solution.  The  references  to 
them  are  legion.  We  scarcely  think  of  the 
origin  of  "Herculean  task,"  "dark  as  Ere- 
bus," "the  Halcyon  days,"  "the  thread  of 
life,"  etc.     The  names  of  the  days  of  the 


TRIBUTARIES  OF  THE  LITERARY   STREAM     83 

week  and  the  months  of  the  year  no  longer 
recall  the  heroes  of  story  and  song.  The 
undying  vitality  of  this  priceless  heritage 
has  become  a  part  of  our  life  and  thought. 

The  classic  myths  and  legends,  especially, 
have  in  them  more  of  beauty,  greater  power 
and  dignity,  than  what  I  have  characterized 
as  folk  lore.  The  action  is  for  the  most  part 
on  a  higher  plane.  The  heroes  perform 
their  mighty  deeds  mostly  for  others.  Their 
undying  fame  is  achieved  in  altruistic  en- 
deavor. The  hero  himself  may  suffer  and 
sin,  the  burden  of  life  may  seem  unendura- 
ble, the  mystic  shadow  of  fate  may  shut  out 
for  a  time  life's  joyousness,  but  in  the  end 
he  is  triumphant.  His  achievement  adds 
something  to  the  sum  of  human  joy,  either 
for  himself  or  for  his  people. 

The  age  of  myth  takes  us  back  to  the 
dawning  of  intelligence.  The  "vision  splen- 
did" of  a  new  world  seeks  interpretation. 
The  imperishable  answers  of  men  are  these 
fine  old  tales.  Dr.  Charles  McMurry  says: 
"To  read  these  old  heroic  epics  is  to  taste 
of  the  very  spirit  and  conditions  of  our  an- 


84      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

cestors  in  this  period  of  youthful  exuber- 
ance. He  who  touches  these  living  stones  has 
his  hands  upon  the  primitive  strength  of 
European  culture.  .  .  .  For  the  child  there- 
fore to  drink  of  these  fountains,  is  to  ac- 
quire a  vantage  for  the  appreciation  of  later 
ideas  and  institutions."  (Special  Method 
in  Reading,  p.  35.)  Of  this  material  Presi- 
dent G.  Stanley  Hall  says:  "They  are  pro- 
foundly true,  not  to  the  external  world,  as 
the  child  knows  and  may  be  freely  told,  but 
to  the  heart  and  the  world  within.  With  the 
good  as  the  pretty,  and  the  bad  as  the  ugly, 
and  the  ethical  judgment  exercised  where 
it  is  sure  to  go  right,  mythic  forms  are  about 
as  near  pure  object  teaching  as  ethics  can 
get."     (How  to  Teach  Reading,  p.  22.) 

Childhood's  democracy  finds  its  counter- 
part here  in  wonderful  likeness.  Charles 
Kingsley  says  we  must  think  of  the  Greeks 
"As  a  country  people,  living  in  farms  and 
walled  villages,  in  a  simple,  hard-working 
way;  so  that  the  greatest  kings  and  heroes 
cooked  their  own  meals  and  thought  it  no 
shame,  and  made  their  own  ships  and  weap- 


TRIBUTARIES  OF  THE  LITERARY  STREAM     85 

ons,  and  fed  and  harnessed  their  own  horses ; 
and  the  queens  worked  with  their  maid- 
servants, and  did  all  the  business  of  the 
house,  and  spun,  and  wove,  and  embroid- 
ered, and  made  their  husbands'  clothes  and 
their  own.  So  that  a  man  was  honored 
among  them,  not  because  he  happened  to  be 
rich,  but  according  to  his  skill,  and  his 
strength,  and  courage,  and  the  number  of 
things  he  could  do.  For  they  were  but  grown 
up  children,  though  they  were  right  noble 
children  too;  and  it  was  with  them  as  it  is 
now  at  school;  the  strongest  and  cleverest 
boy,  though  he  be  poor,  leads  all  the  rest." 
(Preface  to  Greek  Heroes.) 

The  central  core  of  genuine  myth  is  no 
doubt  a  religious  idea.  But  in  school  work 
this  ought  to  be  a  negligible  quantity.  The 
myths,  just  as  the  hero  tales  and  legends, 
are  to  be  treated  as  story.  Children  should 
be  allowed  to  revel  in  the  fancy  and  emotion 
they  contain,  to  be  thoroughly  saturated 
with  their  life  and  ideals,  to  love  them,  so 
they  will  have  a  desire  and  an  equipment  to 
read  the  great  books  of  Homer  and  Vergil, 


86      LITERATURE    IN    THE   COMMON    SCHOOLS 

and  the  Greek  dramas.  Pleasure,  taste, 
equipment,  and  desire  should  never  be  lost 
sight  of. 

Another  tributary  of  wondrous  beauty  and 
great  volume  is  the  chivalric  stream.  No 
other  influence  was  so  deep  and  widespread 
throughout  the  middle  ages  upon  all  the 
literatures  of  Europe.  The  romances  and 
legends  which  cluster  around  Christian 
chivalry  have  caught  the  essence  of  that  mys- 
terious and  fascinating  life  and  embalmed 
it  in  story  and  song.  Here  belong  the  Ar- 
thurian legends,  the  Charlemagne  romances, 
Chretien,  Malory,  the  Robin  Hood  talcs, 
and  "The  Song  of  Roland."  From  this 
source  Wagner  drew  his  material  for  the 
stories  of  his  operas.  Here  Spenser  found 
his  great  inspiration  and  gave  it  back  to  us 
in  "The  Fairy  Queen."  The  immortal 
"Don  Quixote"  is  a  burlesque  upon  the 
romances  of  knight  errantry.  Tennyson's 
"Idyls  of  the  King"  is  one  of  its  finest  off- 
springs, and  most  of  the  poets  of  note  have 
drunk  at  the  fountain-head  of  chivalry. 
The  incomparable  beauty  of  these  romances, 


TRIBUTARIES  OF  THE  LITERARY  STREAM     87 

their  undying  fame,  and  their  significance 
in  the  meaning  of  life,  make  them  one  of  the 
richest  elements  of  our  literature.  There  is 
no  such  thing  as  a  cultured  English  scholar 
who  does  not  know  these  charming  tales. 

The  last  literary  tributary  that  I  wish  to 
speak  of  is  Shakespeare.  A  tiny  rill,  start- 
ing in  obscurity  and  contempt  three  hundred 
years  ago,  it  has  flooded  the  world.  The 
polite  literatures  of  all  nations  have  absorbed 
most  of  his  great  plays.  In  English  he  is 
almost  as  potent  as  the  Bible.  Much  of  his 
language  is  the  current  speech  of  the  day. 
We  know  his  great  characters  better  than  we 
do  our  friends.  Hamlet,  Falstaff,  Othello, 
Cordelia,  Iago,  and  a  score  of  others  are 
household  words.  The  great  plays  take 
rank  with  the  prophetic  books  of  the  world. 
With  the  Bible  and  Shakespeare  we  are 
incomparably  rich,  and  without  them  un- 
speakably poor,  and  I  speak  from  the  stand- 
point of  literature. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  study  of  these  five 
influences,  the  Bible,  folk  lore,  the  myth, 
chivalry,  and  Shakespeare,  is  not  a  matter 


88      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

of  choice,  —  it  is  an  obligation  laid  upon 
every  teacher.  Education  is  a  preparation 
for  a  complete  living.  We  are  prone  to 
think  it  is  a  preparation  for  life  after  school 
days  are  over.  This  is  a  great  mistake. 
Education  ought  to  be  made  effective  every 
day.  It  should  be  a  participation  in  living 
every  moment.  The  greatest  possible  amount 
of  delight,  consistent  with  duty,  should  be 
each  child's  portion  in  school.  His  effort 
should  be  progressive  and  directed.  In  the 
field  of  literature,  this  progressive  partici- 
pation in  life  is  so  clearly  marked  and  so  easy 
to  follow  that  a  wayfaring  man,  though  a 
fool,  need  not  err  therein.  Two  great  bene- 
fits accrue  to  the  children.  First,  and  pri- 
mary, the  acquaintance  with  the  literature 
for  its  own  sake.  In  the  ultimate  analysis, 
this  may  be  the  only  valid  reason,  but  from 
a  practical  viewpoint,  this  acquisition  fur- 
nishes an  equipment  with  which  the  owner 
is  able  to  read  in  many  fields  with  ease  and 
satisfaction.  And  this  is  not  to  be  despised. 
A  course  in  literature  for  the  grades  ought 
to  look  carefully  to  these  results. 


PRESENTATION    IN    PRIMARY    GRADES      89 

PRESENTATION  IN  THE  PRIMARY 
GRADES 

It  happens  that  the  best  method  of  pres- 
entation in  the  very  earliest  grades  is  the 
only  one,  namely,  oral  presentation.  Be- 
fore they  reach  school  age  or  have  even 
learned  how  to  read,  most  children  have  ac- 
quired some  knowledge  of  literature,  — 
folk  lore,  fairy  tales,  nonsense  verse,  etc. 
This  is  the  place  for  the  school  teacher  to 
begin.  No  costly  nor  extensive  library  is 
necessary.  Books  for  class  use  are  not 
needed.  The  appeal  is  to  be  made,  even  for 
some  time  after  the  children  can  read,  di- 
rectly, through  the  medium  of  the  story.  Of 
course  the  aim  of  all  teaching  is  to  make  the 
child  independent  of  the  teacher,  and  he 
must  be  encouraged  and  directed  to  read  for 
himself.  But  no  doubt  the  greatest  delight  of 
children  is  found  in  reading  what  they  have 
previously  learned  orally.  It  is  like  meeting 
an  old  friend. 

The  story  is  the  most  fascinating  as  well 
as  the  most  universal  of  all  literary  forms. 


90      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

The  longing  for  it  is  primitive  and  undying. 
The  finest  and  most  lasting  effects  are  se- 
cured when  the  story  is  told,  not  read.  This 
brings  in  the  personality  of  teller.  The 
teacher  must  be  for  the  time  the  creator  of 
the  story  and  must  live  it.  Two  objects 
must  be  kept  always  in  view :  First,  that  the 
story  should  give  the  keenest  sense  of  pleas- 
ure. Second,  the  reaction  of  the  children 
upon  the  story. 

The  discussion  of  the  story  in  detail  with 
all  its  educational  significance,  would  re- 
quire a  book  in  itself.  It  is  my  purpose  here 
to  point  out  some  of  the  most  fundamental 
things  only. 

First  of  all,  comes  the  choice  of  stories. 
Every  teacher  must  be  more  or  less  of  a 
critic.  This  implies  a  knowledge  of  prin- 
ciples. These  principles  are  to  be  the  basis 
of  a  choice  and  not  a  mere  liking  for  the 
stories.  In  selecting,  the  following  things 
must  be  considered: 

1.  Material.  —  The  mere  stuff  out  of 
which  the  story  is  made  must  be  suited  to 
the  taste  and  the  needs  of  children.     Gen- 


PRESENTATION    IN    PRIMARY    GRADES      91 

erally  speaking,  it  must  be  the  sort  of  stuff 
that  the  child  can  "bolt  to  the  bran,"  —  can 
both  apprehend  and  comprehend. 

2.  Action.  —  For  little  people  the  story 
must  be  full  of  action.  Something  must  be 
going  on  all  the  time.  The  movement  must 
be  straightforward,  with  little  detail.  The 
characters  must  do  something,  they  must  be 
active,  not  passive ;  the  motives  of  their  ac- 
tion must  be  perfectly  clear  and  simple. 
They  are  judged  at  once  by  the  things  they 
do.  Little  heed  is  given  to  the  development 
of  character.  There  is  no  time  for  it.  The 
action  stands  out  so  clear-cut  that  people  are 
either  good  or  bad.  It  is  only  in  more  ad- 
vanced study  that  men  are  both  good  and 
bad. 

3.  Unity.  —  This  is  a  fundamental  art 
law.  The  thing  must  have  a  plan,  —  the 
parts  must  be  fitted  together.  It  is  a  literary 
edifice.  All  this  involves  the  plot.  This  is  a 
weaving  together  of  various  elements  or 
threads.  Things  are  complicated  and  con- 
ditions are  modified.  The  cause  of  the  prob- 
lem, as  intrigue,  jealousy,  crime,  etc.,  must 


92      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

not  only  be  clearly  seen,  but  just  how  it 
works  itself  out  into  a  solution.  It  must 
reach  a  goal,  and  when  all  is  finished  there 
must  be  a  sense  of  completeness.  Nothing 
must  remain  to  be  supplied. 

4.  Ethics.  —  The  justice  of  the  outcome 
must  not  be  questionable.  It  must  be  clearly 
defined  and  definitely  settled.  Everyone 
must  fare  in  the  end  according  to  his  deserts. 
Beware  the  story  that  contains  the  subtle 
fascination  of  vice  or  the  approval  of  trickery 
or  downright  wrong.  Children  demand, 
even  more  strongly  than  adults,  absolute 
poetic  justice.  The  conclusion  must  be  for- 
tunate for  the  beautiful,  the  kind,  the  good, 
and  the  opposites  are  to  be  either  left  out  of 
the  rewards,  or  punished. 

Having  chosen  the  story,  the  next  thing  is 
to  know  it,  —  not  verbatim,  except  in  cumu- 
lative stories  and  repetitive  portions.  The 
leading  facts  should  be  held  in  mind  like  a 
skeleton,  and  the  details  supplied  spontane- 
ously. This  method  allows  a  certain  aban- 
don and  atmosphere  not  possible  when  the 
story  is  memorized.     It  also  gives  oppor- 


PRESENTATION    IN    PRIMARY   GRADES      93 

tunity  to  modify  according  to  the  needs  of  the 
audience  and  to  enhance  the  charm  by  the 
personality  of  the  teacher.  It  further  pro- 
vides for  naturalness  in  voice,  gesture,  and 
expression.  There  is  a  directness  of  effect 
not  secured  except  by  this  free  play  of  im- 
agination and  spontaneity  of  composition. 
Gather  the  children  close  around  you. 
Physical  nearness  promotes  imaginative 
and  emotional  nearness.  It  takes  rare 
power  to  be  effective  across  any  consider- 
able spaces.  In  many  cases  pictures,  and 
especially  the  ability  to  use  the  blackboard, 
are  of  the  greatest  help.  A  rude  picture, 
which  the  children  see  grow  under  the 
touch  of  the  teacher,  provided  it  illustrates 
the  point,  is  usually  more  interesting  and 
more  valuable  than  a  finished  bit  of  art. 

The  story  having  been  presented,  there 
ought  to  be  immediate  opportunity  for  dis- 
cussion of  it  by  the  children  with  the  teacher. 
This  discussion  should  take  the  form,  in 
most  part,  of  question  and  answer.  Aimless 
chatter  should  be  rigidly  checked.  Certain 
prominent  facts  must  be  made  to  stand  out 


94      LITERATURE    IN    THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

and  become  fixed  in  the  children's  minds. 
In  this  part  of  the  work,  the  wise  teacher 
will  not  be  too  finical  about  the  correctness  of 
the  child's  language.  Spontaneity  is  more 
important  here,  and  a  free  play  of  thought 
and  expression  is  to  be  sought.  This  flow  of 
thought  and  language  should  not  be  ham- 
pered by  interruptions  except  for  flagrant 
violations. 

The  next  logical  step  on  the  part  of  the 
child  is  a  retelling  of  the  story.  This 
should  be  in  the  child's  own  language.  The 
material  will  lie  in  his  mind  in  a  more  or 
less  unorganized  mass.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary for  him  to  select,  arrange,  bring  to  a 
climax.  This  sense  of  order  and  goal  is 
of  the  greatest  educational  significance.  It 
keeps  his  attention  longer  and  shows  the 
relation  of  parts  to  each  other  and  to  the 
whole.  It  furnishes  a  model  also  for  the 
synthesizing  and  retention  of  his  own  men- 
tal products.  Under  such  a  process  there 
is  developed  an  appreciation  of  logical  ar- 
rangement, conciseness,  beauty,  and  com- 
pleteness.   This  is  the  time  also  to  see  that 


PRESENTATION     IN    PRIMARY    GRADES      95 

the  form  of  expression  is  correct.  The  lan- 
guage, as  well  as  the  material,  must  be  in 
the  best  taste. 

If  the  selection  happens  to  take  the  form 
of  poetry,  it  should  be  memorized.  Nothing 
is  worthy  of  presentation  to  little  people,  in 
the  form  of  poetry,  which  is  not  worth 
"learning  by  heart."  They  do  it  so  easily, 
and  at  the  same  time  store  up  for  them- 
selves such  incomparable  riches  of  emo- 
tions, fancies,  and  ideas !  The  repetition 
of  these  poems  offers  unsurpassed  oppor- 
tunities for  training  the  ear  to  hear  beauti- 
ful sounds  and  training  the  voice  to  make 
them.  How  little  attention  is  given  to  the 
making  of  full,  beautiful  tones ! 

The  process  of  reproduction  may  take 
other  valuable  forms.  The  stories  may  be 
retold  by  a  series  of  drawings,  or  by  forms 
cut  from  paper.  Many  of  the  things  men- 
tioned can  be  made  by  the  children,  thus 
securing  at  once  a  training  of  hand,  eye, 
and  brain.  The  desire  to  make  things  is 
one  of  the  earliest  and  strongest.  It  ought 
to  be  systematically  trained  and  developed. 


})()      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

All  kinds  of  creative  ability  are  precious,  — 
precious  on  account  of  the  educational 
process  as  well  as  for  the  product  created. 
The  dramatic  instinct,  strong  in  children, 
ought  to  be  fostered.  If  left  to  themselves, 
they  are  natural  actors.  Let  them  drama- 
tize the  stories,  the  whole  class  working  to- 
gether in  spontaneous,  oral  composition, 
and  the  teacher  acting  as  recorder.  The  re- 
sult will  be  a  joint-stock  production.  This 
was  the  way  the  primitive  tale  and  ballad 
were  composed.  They  have  a  flavor  about 
them  that  no  modern  artist  can  reproduce. 
Such  a  production  might  well  be  staged  in 
a  simple  fashion  and  offered  for  the  en- 
tertainment of  the  school  and  its  patrons. 
These  things  furnish  intense  delight,  are  ped- 
agogically  sound,  and  eminently  practical. 


THE  STORY  IN  THE  UPPER  GRADES 

The  universality  of  the  story  makes  neces- 
sary a  chapter  for  its  study  in  the  upper 
grades  and  for  reading  after  school  days. 


THE    STORY    IN    THE   UPPER   GRADES       97 

The  appetite  for  it  extends  to  the  ends  of 
the  world.  Sailors  in  the  far  north  spend 
the  long  nights  poring  over  novels,  and 
soldiers  after  a  hot  day's  march  are  cooled 
and  rested  by  their  charm.  The  Arab 
sheik  listens  with  rapture  to  his  bard,  and 
the  sultan  in  "The  Arabian  Nights"  forgets 
his  bloody  purpose  under  the  spell  of  the 
thousand  and  one  tales.  Our  Anglo-Saxon 
ancestors  revelled  in  stories,  and  the  tales 
of  Ulysses  have  fascinated  all  ages  and  na- 
tions. Stories  are  the  delight  of  children, 
the  joy  of  youth,  the  instruction  of  man- 
hood, and  the  comfort  of  old  age.  The 
most  intellectual  men  are  concerned  with 
the  lofty  thought  and  profound  emotion  of 
great  novels,  and  the  most  uncultured 
reader  turns  to  tales  of  fiction  that  are 
within  the  range  of  his  appreciation.  From 
the  savage  to  a  Gladstone  everybody  loves  a 
story. 

The  motives  for  reading  stories  are  as 
varied  as  the  types  of  mind.  The  boy,  if 
historically  inclined,  reads  Scott;  if  one 
has  a  turn  for  science,  he  reads  Jules  Verne; 

7 


98      LITERATURE    IN   THE    COMMON    SCHOOLS 

if  for  psychology,  Henry  James,  etc.  But 
the  great  common  motives  are  amusement, 
rest,  and  recreation.  They  provide  a  relief 
from  the  humdrum  of  everyday  life,  they 
lift  us  into  the  realms  of  the  ideal,  they  carry 
us  as  far  as  possible  from  ordinary  pursuits. 
Maupassant,  in  his  preface  to  "  Pierre  et 
Jean,"  says:  "The  public  is  composed  of 
groups  who  say  to  us  (novelists) :  '  Con- 
sole me,  amuse  me,  make  me  sad,  make  me 
sentimental,  make  me  dream,  make  me 
laugh,  make  me  tremble,  make  me  weep, 
make  me  think.'" 

And  finally  there  are  a  few  people  who 
demand  a  story  as  a  work  of  art,  something 
fine  and  exquisite. 

The  first  thing  about  a  story  to  demand 
our  attention  is  the  plot.  The  word  was 
originally  complot  and  means  a  weaving  to- 
gether. It  is  that  which  happens  to  the 
characters.  Its  basis  is  action,  and  it  may 
deal  with  the  experience  and  evolution  of 
a  single  character.  Hawthorne's  "Wake- 
field" is  a  story  of  great  interest.  It  is  a 
psychological   study  of  a  man  who  imag- 


THE  STORY  IN  THE  UPPER  GRADES   99 

ined  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  remain 
away  from  home  a  certain  night.  He  re- 
mained away  twenty  years. 

Usually  the  plot  involves  at  least  two 
characters  and  grows  out  of  different  forces 
brought  into  struggle.  In  "Silas  Marner" 
the  two  forces  are  the  love  for  a  child  and 
the  embittered  human  nature  in  Silas. 

Again  there  is  what  Bliss  Perry  calls  the 
three-leaved-clover  relationship.  This  in- 
volves three  characters  in  which  the  atti- 
tude of  two  of  them  to  a  third  brings  about 
a  new  line  of  action.  As  an  example  of 
this  type  Mr.  Perry  instances  Mary  E. 
Wilkins-Freeman's  "The  New  England 
Nun."  It  is  also  exemplified  in  Chaucer's 
"Knight's  Tale,"  by  Palamon,  Arcite,  and 
Emily.  Such  a  relationship  may  introduce 
tremendous  lines  of  action,  such  as  passion, 
fear,  jealousy,  etc. 

The  plot  includes  also  the  setting  as  to 
time,  place,  and  stratum  of  intellectual  life. 
It  corresponds  pretty  much  to  the  scenery 
in  a  play.  It  is  what  painters  call  atmos- 
phere, and  the  scientists,  environment.     It 


100      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

is  always  something  which  lies  behind  the 
characters  and  apart  from  them.  In  Scott, 
it  is  feudalism;  in  Bret  Harte,  the  Cali- 
fornia mining  camp;  in  Hamlin  Garland, 
farming;  in  Howells,  American  democracy. 
The  setting  of  a  story  is  often  one  of  the 
chief  means  of  giving  it  unity,  as  the  French 
Revolution  in  "Les  Miserables,"  or  the  his- 
torical atmosphere  of  Queen  Anne's  time  in 
"  Henry  Esmond." 

Landscape  setting  is  often  of  the  greatest 
importance.  Mountains,  stream,  wood,  etc., 
come  to  be  a  part  of  the  story.  In  "Lorna 
Doone"  it  is  impossible  to  dissociate  story 
and  landscape.  The  country  is  an  essential 
part  of  the  tale.  Often  the  landscape  setting 
seems  to  be  used  for  mere  vividness,  as  in 
"The  Choir  Invisible,"  and  not  infrequently 
is  made  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
mental  states  and  development  of  a  char- 
acter, as  Black  Water  Park  in  "The  Woman 
in  White." 

In  general  the  main  function  of  the  plot 
is  to  sustain  interest.  The  plot  is  equiva- 
lent to  action,  and  action  is  concrete.    In  a 


THE  STORY  IN  THE  UPPER  GRADES   101 

novel  of  incident,  such  as  "  Kenilworth,"  the 
plot  is  epic.  In  a  novel  of  character,  as 
"Silas  Marner,"  the  plot  sinks  to  a  sub- 
ordinate place.  In  an  abstract  novel,  like 
Bellamy's  "Looking  Backward,"  the  plot 
simply  floats  the  characters. 

The  effectiveness  of  a  plot  depends  much 
upon  the  effectiveness  of  the  material  com- 
posing it.  Action  with  some  universal  pas- 
sion, such  as  love,  is  most  attractive.  The 
material  varies  in  interest  with  the  reader, 
as  jealousy,  ambition,  etc.,  appeal  with  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  force  to  different  people. 
Whether  a  plot  is  interesting  depends  gen- 
erally on  the  intrinsic  value  it  has  for  the 
reader.  The  interest  may,  however,  de- 
pend upon  the  way  in  which  the  material  is 
presented. 

There  are  various  ways  of  increasing  in- 
terest in  the  plot: 

1.  By  giving  the  plot  a  vivid  setting  in 
description.  Description  gives  life  to  a 
narrative  by  giving  it  a  definite  place.  The 
Hegelian  view  of  art  is  that  environment 
should    reflect    the    mental    and  emotional 


102     LITERATURE  IN   THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

states.  In  real  life  these  agreements  are 
rare,  but  they  do  occur.  In  all  cases  the 
description  should  never  seem  to  exist  for 
itself. 

2.  By  concreteness  in  action.  The  plot 
should  avoid  vague  abstractions  and  glit- 
tering generalities. 

3.  By  direct  onward  movement.  The  gain 
when  this  method  is  used  is  one  of  clear- 
ness. At  times,  however,  it  is  best  to  begin 
in  the  middle  of  things  and  after  awhile  go 
back  and  take  up  the  beginning.  The  gain 
here  is  one  of  interest. 

4.  By  rapid  movement.  This  means  a 
concise  style,  —  all  non-essentials  omitted. 
Compare  Stevenson's  "Treasure  Island" 
with  Dickens's  "Dombey  and  Son."  The 
former  gains  immensely  by  the  onward  rush 
of  movement. 

5.  By  climax.  The  word  "climax"  means 
a  ladder  or  staircase.  It  is  commonly  some 
scene  or  action  which  marks  the  greatest 
tension  or  the  most  important  moment  in 
the  relation  of  characters.  The  killing  of 
Polonius  in  "Hamlet "  and  the  fall  of  Front- 


THE  STORY  IN  THE  UPPER  GRADES   103 

de-Boeuf  in  "Ivanhoe"  are  climaxes.  The 
common  element  of  all  climaxes  is  a  crisis, 
and  all  the  elements  work  toward  this  crisis. 
A  climax  not  only  intensifies  the  interest  at 
the  moment  of  crisis,  but  it  heightens  it  all 
along  the  way  by  creating  an  expectancy. 
There  are  frequently  minor  climaxes  which 
lure  us  on. 

6.  By  mystery.  This  is  a  very  effective 
element,  largely  because  it  excites  curiosity. 
There  are  various  ways  of  producing  it.  A 
common  form  is  to  give  an  effect  but  to 
withhold  the  cause.  Frequently  a  climax 
is  produced  by  the  solution  of  a  mystery. 
Climax  and  mystery  may  create  suspense. 

7.  By  a  sense  of  unity.  Unity  may  be  of 
different  kinds.  In  any  case  it  implies  co- 
ordination of  parts  to  a  common  end,  as  in 
a  bridge.  Unity  may  be  that  of  position 
only,  as  a  number  of  marbles  in  a  bag,  or  it 
may  be  one  of  time,  or  one  of  function,  as 
Paul's  organism.  The  unity  of  a  plot  may 
be  lengthwise,  from  beginning  to  end.  This 
happens  when  there  is  one  thread,  —  one 
story.     When  there  are  several  threads,  6r 


104      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

stories,  there  must  be  a  unity  sidewise  also. 
The  unity  lengthwise  is  the  highest  when  a 
gives  birth  to  b,  b  to  c,  etc.,  that  is,  a  causal 
relation.  Unity  sidewise  is  harder  to  secure. 
Skill  in  story-writing,  especially  in  long 
stories,  consists  largely  in  a  skill  in  inter- 
weaving various  threads.  This  applies  also 
to  the  drama. 

There  are  two  main  types  of  the  plot : 
(a).    That  which  has  one  main  thread  and 
several  subordinate  ones.      "The  Merchant 
of  Venice"  is   a  good  example  of  such  a 
plot. 

(b).  That  which  has  two  or  more  threads, 
almost  cr  quite  equally  important,  at  least  for 
a  while,  and  which  finally  converge.  The 
plot  of  "Kenilworth"  is  like  this.  The  love 
thread  and  the  historic  thread  converge  and 
are  blended  at  Kenilworth.  A  complex  plot 
gives  mass  and  variety.  A  simple  plot  is  to 
a  complex  plot  as  a  melody  is  to  a  harmony, 
or  the  Greek  Parthenon  to  St.  Peter's  Ca- 
thedral. For  the  acme  of  intensity,  a  com- 
plex plot  must  yield  to  one  more  simple. 
Take    for    example    Balzac's    "  The    Wild 


THE    STORY    IN    THE    UPPER   GRADES     105 

Ass's  Skin,"  or  Stockton's  "The  Lady  or 
the  Tiger." 

8.  By  novelty.  This  may  be  of  two 
kinds.  First,  novelty  of  material,  as  Kip- 
ling's Indian  stories,  or  second,  novelty  of 
combination. 

9.  By  'probability.  One  instinctively  asks 
is  the  action  natural,  is  it  probable  ?  If  the 
conclusion  is  negative,  the  interest  is  gone 
except  as  for  an  extravaganza,  such  as  Rider 
Haggard's  "She." 

But  after  all,  character  is  of  more  value 
than  plot,  —  people  are  more  fascinating 
than  incidents.  The  greatest  stories  are 
those  that  possess  the  greatest  characters. 
In  the  treatment  of  characters  there  are  two 
processes.  First,  the  conception  of  a  char- 
acter, and  second,  the  portrayal  of  it. 
Character-conception  is  fundamental  to  a 
great  story-writer.  There  are  qualities  he 
must  have: 

(a)  A  large  nature. 

(b)  Wide  experience  of  men. 

(c)  Spiritual  sympathy,  —  power  to  put 
himself  in  another's  place. 


10G      LITERATURE   IN  THE  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

The  character  once  conceived,  it  may  be 
portrayed  by: 

1.  Description  of  inward  nature,  external 
appearance,  or  past  life.  This  is  a  favorite 
method  of  Scott,  who  stands  his  character 
on  a  pedestal,  so  to  speak,  and  describes 
him.  A  frequent  method  of  Hawthorne  is 
to  mention  some  suggestive  or  significant 
fact,  as  the  doves  which  hover  round  Hilda's 
tower  in  "The  Marble  Faun." 

2.  Analysis  of  mental  states.  This  is  best 
adapted  to  subtle  and  psychical  phases. 
George  Eliot  employs  it  freely  and  Henry 
James  is  one  of  its  chief  exponents. 

3.  Making  the  character  talk  and  act. 
This  is  a  movement  from  within  outward. 
The  conception  of  the  character  begets  the 
expression  and  action.  This  method  allows 
the  reader  to  estimate  the  character  much  as 
he  does  in  real  life,  by  what  the  character 
says  and  does. 

What  we  call  character  is  the  sum  of  a 
person's  traits.  The  difference  in  character 
may  be  due  often  to  a  difference  in  arrange- 
ment of  traits.    In  the  study  of  a  character, 


THE    STORY  IN  THE   UPPER  GRADES      107 

note  what  it  does  at  certain  crises.  At  such 
times  a  character  does  not  act  contrary  to  its 
real  self.  Its  expression  is  sincere.  The 
statements  of  other  characters  in  the  story 
must  be  taken  with  caution.  Be  careful  of 
the  influence  of  what  persons  in  the  plot  say. 
One  must  also  learn  to  distinguish  between 
the  different  parts  of  a  character  and  to  look 
for  motives.  Note  the  ratio  in  which  motives 
combine  to  determine  action.  Study  devel- 
opment if  there  is  one,  both  the  facts  and 
causes.  Note  the  interaction  of  characters 
upon  each  other  and  the  consequences.  A 
good  complex  plot  necessitates  character 
grouping.  Unity  demands  a  subordination 
of  side  figures  to  central  figures.  Side  figures 
are  needed.  They  furnish  a  background,  a 
necessity  similar  to  that  in  a  picture,  which 
sets  it  off  as  a  whole.  The  principal  group 
may  consist  of  a  few,  or  it  may  be  that  the 
function  of  a  group  is  performed  by  a  single 
figure.  A  group  must  not  consist  of  so  many 
as  to  attract  attention  from  the  story  as  a 
whole. 

There  must  be  grouping  also  for  the  sake 


108     LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

of  variety.  This  furnishes  restfulness.  Just 
as  we  get  rest  by  a  change  of  occupation,  so 
we  get  rest  by  a  change  of  attention.  Variety 
also  gives  positive  pleasure.  When  grouping 
for  variety  is  carried  to  the  extreme,  we  get 
contrast.  The  usual  result  of  contrast  is 
vividness. 

And  finally,  there  is  grouping  for  the  sake  of 
interaction  of  one  mind  upon  another.  This 
results  in  dialogue,  which  has  two  factors : 

1.  The  individualities  of  each  speaker. 

2.  The  influence  which  one  speaker  ex- 
erts upon  another. 

A  word  about  the  purpose  of  stories  may 
not  be  out  of  place.  Some  have  an  appar- 
ent and  definite  purpose,  as  "Nicholas 
Nickleby."  Others  have  an  ethical  pur- 
pose, not  so  apparent,  as  "Vanity  Fair." 
The  purpose  of  some  is  to  give  a  picture  of 
life  and  some  are  just  for  entertainment. 
Some  stories  have  one  purpose  only,  as 
"Looking  Backward,"  and  others  have 
several  purposes,  as  "Romola."  Every 
novel  in  a  broad  sense  has  a  purpose.  This 
aim,  or  purpose,  determines  its  type.     To 


THE    STORY    IN    THE    UPPER   GRADES       109 

judge  a  story  adequately,  one  must  know 
what  the  writer  is  trying  to  do.  On  the  basis 
of  purpose  stories  may  be  grouped  into  three 
large  classes: 

1.  Aesthetic.  In  this  class  are  the  sto- 
ries whose  principal  aim  is  to  develop  through 
pleasurable  emotions  a  fine  appreciation  of 
the  beautiful,  in  the  various  phases  of  life. 
"Pride  and  Prejudice"  is  a  good  example. 

2.  Didactic.  The  main  purpose  of  these 
is  to  impart  truth  for  its  own  sake.  "Here- 
ward  the  Wake"  in  the  historical  field,  and 
"Elsie  Venner"  in  the  scientific,  are  good 
examples. 

3.  Ethical.  The  predominant  purpose 
here  is  to  influence  conduct,  either  of  indi- 
viduals, or,  as  in  "Alton  Locke,"  of  a  whole 
community.  In  this  class  are  to  be  found 
most  of  the  superlatively  great  novels  of  the 
world. 

On  the  basis  of  the  predominant  means 
used,  stories  are  classed  as  those  of  (a)  inci- 
dent, or  (b)  character.  "Kenilworth"  il- 
lustrates the  first  class,  and  "Silas  Marner" 
the  second. 


110      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

The  terms  "  realism  "  and  "  romance  "  are 
somewhat  troublesome  but  must  be  grappled 
with  sooner  or  later.  Realism  is  a  vague 
term.  It  usually  means  a  close  adherence  to 
fact.  The  realist  asserts  that  the  truths  of  life 
are  best  illustrated  in  the  common,  every-day 
experiences  and  not  in  the  exceptional  ones. 
He  aims  to  represent  the  familiar,  such  as 
one  may  readily  verify.  He  protests  against 
the  romantic  as  abnormal.  The  extreme 
realist  goes  further.  Not  only  is  fidelity  to 
fact  a  test  of  the  best  literature,  but  he 
insists  that  all  the  facts  should  be  given. 

In  regard  to  this  view  it  may  be  said  that 
all  art,  by  nature  of  its  material  and  its  aim, 
departs  from  exact  reproduction  of  life. 
The  most  extreme  realist  must  select,  ex- 
clude, and  combine.  He  cannot  tell  us  every- 
thing. This  is,  of  course,  an  idealizing 
process.  No  characters  act  and  speak  ex- 
actly as  in  real  life.  They  are  represented  at 
ideal  moments.  A  literary  catalogue  of  a 
man's  acts  and  words  would  be  intolerable, 
even  if  it  were  possible. 

On  the  other  hand,  "Romance  is  the  ex- 


THE    STORY    IN    THE    UPPER    GRADES      111 

hibition  of  familiar  motive  in  unfamiliar 
circumstance."  "It  is  a  device  to  bring  out 
the  bolder  traits  of  character  by  the  test  of 
some  unexpected  incident."  "Romantic 
literature  is,  for  the  most  part,  a  picture  of 
characters  placed  in  such  emergency  and 
then  acting  and  suffering  as  we  think  they 
ought."  —  Winchester. 

The  means  of  the  plot  ought  to  vary  with 
the  purpose.  In  a  story  written  merely  to 
entertain,  the  plot  must  take  precedence  of 
everything  else.  The  ethical  novel  of  char- 
acter varies  the  plot  to  suit  the  characters. 
Commonplace  characters  require  an  ordin- 
ary plot.  An  historical  novel  requires  descrip- 
tion. In  short,  a  story  takes  to  itself  the 
fundamental  elements  in  a  proportion  to  suit 
the  needs  of  that  particular  story.  No  one 
element  should  be  pushed  so  far  or  reduced 
so  low  that  the  story  as  a  whole  loses  its 
type.  The  greatest  stories  are  those  that 
combine  the  various  elements  of  story  struc- 
ture with  the  deepest  and  truest  view  of  life. 


112      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 


A    MODEL    LESSON 

The  Herbartian  school  of  pedagogy  has 
developed  a  "general  method"  of  the  pres- 
entation of  a  lesson  founded  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  apperception.  This  method,  since 
it  is  based  upon  the  way  the  mind  acquires 
knowledge,  is  applicable  to  any  subject.  It 
has  five  formal  steps,  as  follows : 

1.  Preparation.  This  does  not  mean  the 
teacher's  own  preparation,  which  is  taken  for 
granted,  but  the  preparation  of  the  minds  of 
the  children  by  the  teacher.  It  includes  the 
assignment  of  the  lesson  and  the  skill  in 
bringing  the  pupils  into  the  right  conscious 
attitude  toward  the  new  material.  It  is  the 
process  by  which  the  old  and  more  or  less 
well-known  ideas  are  awakened  in  the  minds 
of  the  children,  —  ideas  which  are  similar  to 
the  new  one  to  be  presented.  It  is  the  opera- 
tion of  vivifying  old  and  preconceived  ideas 
which  are  in  some  way  related  to  the  new 
thought.  It  is  causing  in  the  child  a  con- 
sciousness of  the  known  in  order  that  he  may 


A   MODEL    LESSON  113 

pass  to  the  related  unknown.  This  prepara- 
tion may  be  the  work  of  a  few  moments  or  it 
may  require  several  recitation  periods.  In 
any  case,  it  is  vital  and  may  not  be  trusted  to 
chance. 

2.  Presentation.  A  successful  presenta- 
tion presupposes  a  knowledge  of  the  minds 
of  the  children.  Something  more  than  the 
basic  principles  is  necessary.  The  skillful 
teacher  seeks  out  the  peculiarities  of  her  boys 
and  girls  and  makes  her  presentation  fit 
them.  Of  course,  there  must  be  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  matter  to  be  presented  and 
the  ways  of  presentation.  Finally,  there 
must  be  skill  on  the  part  of  the  teacher, —  a 
skill  which  comes  from  an  accurate,  scien- 
tific knowledge  of  her  task,  and  experience 
in  doing  it. 

3.  Comparison.  This  may  be  stated 
as  keeping  the  minds  of  the  pupils  fixed 
upon  the  new  material  and  such  experi- 
ences or  knowledge  of  their  own  as  will 
help  them  to  interpret  the  new  truth  in 
familiar  ideas.  It  is  a  practice  in  discov- 
ering  likenesses   and   differences,  an   exer- 


114      LITERATURE  IN  THE   COMMON  SCHOOLS 

rise   in  distinguishing  between  the  similar 
and  the  same. 

4.  Generalization.  This  means  leading 
children  to  draw  correct  conclusions.  The 
generalization  should  never  be  considered 
complete  until  stated  in  clear,  concise  lan- 
guage. An  accurate  use  of  language  neces- 
sitates accurate  thinking. 

5.  Application.  Herein  comes  the  skill  in 
making  the  children  realize  the  truth  as  per- 
sonal possession.  It  includes  the  conception 
which  the  child  ought  to  get,  that  school 
problems  are  in  a  very  vital  way  problems 
of  life. 

Suppose  the  reading  lesson  is  the  follow- 
ing poem  by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

OLD   IRONSIDES 

"Ay,  tear  her  tattered  ensign  down ! 

Long  has  it  waved  on  high, 
And  many  an  eye  has  danced  to  see 

That  banner  in  the  sky; 
Beneath  it  rung  the  battle  shout, 

And  burst  the  cannon's  roar;  — 
The  meteor  of  the  ocean  air 

Shall  sweep  the  clouds  no  more. 


A   MODEL   LESSON  115 

"Her  deck,  once  red  with  heroes'  blood, 

Where  knelt  the  vanquished  foe, 
When  winds  were  hurrying  o'er  the  flood, 

And  waves  were  white  below, 
No  more  shall  feel  the  victor's  tread, 

Or  know  the  conquered  knee; 
The  harpies  of  the  shore  shall  pluck 

The  eagle  of  the  sea ! 

"Oh,  better  that  her  shattered  hulk 

Should  sink  beneath  the  wave; 
Her  thunders  shook  the  mighty  deep, 

And  there  should  be  her  grave : 
Nail  to  the  mast  her  holy  flag, 

Set  every  threadbare  sail, 
And  give  her  to  the  god  of  storms, 

The  lightning  and  the  gale  !" 

An  intelligent  and  appreciative  study  of 
such  a  poem  means  far  more  than  the  correct 
pronunciation  of  the  words,  the  looking  up 
of  a  few  allusions,  the  acquirement  of  some 
definitions,  and  the  getting  of  the  thought. 
It  is  not  to  be  mastered  in  one  recitation 
period.  The  teaching  of  a  thing  like  this,  or 
any  other  bit  of  literature  worth  giving  to 
children,  means  comprehension  with  all 
which  that  word  implies.     Let  us  see  what 


11G      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

develops  under  an  application  of  our  pro- 
posed method. 

1.  The  Preparation.  The  facts  connected 
with  the  occasion  which  produced  this  poem 
must  be  placed  before  the  minds  of  the  chil- 
dren. This  may  be  done  in  part  by  the 
teacher  in  one  or  more  talks,  and  in  part  by 
sending  pupils  to  various  books,  periodicals, 
etc.,  for  information  they  are  able  to  gather. 

The  poem  first  appeared  in  the  Boston 
Daily  Advertiser,  September  16, 1830.  "  Old 
Ironsides"  is  the  popular  name  for  the  frig- 
ate Constitution.  She  was  so  called,  not 
because  her  sides  were  made  of  iron,  but  on 
account  of  the  hardness  of  her  planking  and 
timbers.  Some  of  her  timbers  are  perfectly 
sound  to-day.  Her  keel  was  laid  in  Boston, 
1794,  and  she  was  launched  October  21, 
1797.  During  the  war  with  Tripoli,  1801- 
1805,  she  was  Preble's  flagship.  In  the  War 
of  1812  she  made  two  notable  captures, — 
the  Guerriere  and  the  Java.  The  former  was 
left  a  wreck  after  thirty  minutes'  fighting, 
and  the  latter  was  captured  after  a  two  hours' 
struggle.    In  1830,  she  was  reported  unsea- 


A   MODEL    LESSON  117 

worthy  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  recom- 
mended that  she  be  dismantled.  The  order 
was  revoked  in  deference  to  the  sentiment 
aroused  by  Holmes'  poem. 

The  vessel  went  out  of  commission  in 
1855,  at  the  Portsmouth  navy  yard,  New 
Hampshire.  Later,  at  times,  she  was  used 
as  a  training  ship.  She  was  partially  re- 
fitted in  1877,  and  in  1878,  she  crossed  the 
ocean  the  last  time  in  order  to  attend  the 
Paris  Exposition. 

The  Constitution  is  now  at  the  navy  yard, 
Boston,  where  she  has  been  since  1897,  in 
which  year  she  was  towed  from  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire,  to  be  present  at  her  cen- 
tennial celebration.  Later  it  was  proposed 
by  someone  to  use  the  old  ship  as  a  target  at 
sea  and  sink  her  in  that  manner.  Protests 
were  made  by  various  organizations  and  a 
monster  petition  was  sent  from  Massachu- 
setts asking  for  her  preservation.  Congress 
appropriated  $100,000  for  the  purpose,  and 
the  old  vessel  was  restored  to  the  same  ap- 
pearance as  she  presented  in  1812,  —  masts, 
spars,  furniture,  etc.    The  guns  are  of  wood, 


IIS     LITERATURE   IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

but  exact  models  of  those  actually  used  in 
1812.  There  was  much  talk  of  taking  her  to 
Jamestown  as  the  centre  of  the  great  naval 
exhibit.  On  account  of  the  decayed  state  of 
her  hull  it  was  concluded  unsafe  to  take  her 
to  sea. 

There  are  various  avenues  of  approach  to 
an  adequate  preparation.  The  subject  may 
be  fittingly  introduced  by  pictures  and  talks 
about  that  part  of  our  great  navy  which  is  at 
present  circumnavigating  the  globe.  The 
magnificent  spectacle  of  the  naval  exhibit  at 
Jamestown  is  still  fresh  in  story  and  illus- 
tration and  may  be  utilized  to  advantage. 
The  unbounded  sentiment  for  a  ship  has  in 
recent  years  been  demonstrated  in  the  case  of 
the  Oregon  in  her  wonderful  voyage  from 
the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  and  her  participa- 
tion in  the  destruction  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
off  Santiago.  The  triumphal  procession  of 
Admiral  Dewey  through  some  of  the  Ameri- 
can cities  after  his  return  from  Manila  will 
give  some  idea  of  the  tremendous  enthusiasm 
of  which  an  adoring  people  is  capable.  A 
study  in  contrast  between  the  Constitution 


A   MODEL   LESSON  119 

and  the  Monitor  in  appearance,  construc- 
tion, locomotion,  style  of  fighting,  and  results 
of  victory,  ought  to  be  helpful  and  interesting. 
These  are  only  suggestions  of  what  may  be 
done.  Something  like  this  must  be  done  if 
the  poem  is  to  be  really  studied  and  appre- 
ciated. 

2.  The  Presentation.  Word-study  should 
precede  everything  else.  It  is  utter  nonsense 
to  talk  about  the  appreciation  of  literature 
without  an  accurate  and  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  words.  The  mind  cannot  seize 
upon  figures  of  speech  unless  it  knows  the 
ideas  upon  which  these  figures  are  based.  A 
knowledge  of  the  root  idea  of  a  word  is  often 
essential  to  an  exact  understanding  of  its  use. 
Words  usually  connote  many  things,  and  no 
matter  how  excellent  the  dictionaries  may  be, 
a  teacher  is  in  most  cases  a  necessary  supple- 
ment. The  significance  of  a  word  in  a  group 
is  often  very  different  from  its  literal  mean- 
ing. The  habit  of  acquiring  a  clear  and  ade- 
quate conception  of  the  language  of  every- 
thing read  should  be  thoroughly  established. 

Do   not   be   afraid   of   etymologies.     To 


L20      LITERATURE   IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

know  a  large  number  of  Latin  and  Anglo- 
Saxon  words  with  their  meanings  is  not  ped- 
antry, though  one  does  not  read  those  lan- 
guages. In  many  cases  the  exact  idea  does 
not  appear  until  the  attention  is  fixed  on  the 
primitive  meaning  of  key  words.  Under 
such  a  study  the  word  ensign  ceases  to  be  a 
mere  standard  but  becomes  an  emblem  with 
something  specially  marked  upon  it.  There 
persists  the  Latin  idea  of  in  +  signum  which 
is  scarcely  modified  by  the  French  medium 
through  which  it  passes.  Likewise  the 
word  meteor  is  enriched  in  meaning  and  illu- 
minates the  line  in  which  it  is  used  when  we 
understand  that  in  the  original  Greek  it 
means  raised  above  the  earth,  soaring  in  the 
air.  So,  too,  of  the  word  harpy,  which  sig- 
nifies literally  spoiler  or  snatcher. 

A  study  of  imagery  should  follow  the 
wrord-study.  The  imagination  should  re- 
create the  concrete  ideas  of  the  author.  The 
vivid  pictures  should  pass  like  a  panorama; 
"the  tattered  ensign" — the  dancing  eyes  of 
the  sailors  —  "the  meteor  of  the  ocean  air" 
—  the  ship  sweeping  the  clouds  —  the  winds 


A   MODEL   LESSON  121 

"hurrying  o'er  the  flood"  —  the  white  waves 
—  "the  harpies  of  the  shore"  —  and  the 
final  superb  picture  of  the  gallant  frigate, 
her  "holy  flag"  nailed  to  the  mast,  her 
threadbare  sails  bellying  in  the  wind,  set 
adrift,  a  prey  to  the  pitiless  waves,  the  light- 
ning, and  the  gale. 

The  constructive  faculty  of  the  imagina- 
tion is  brought  into  play  continually  by 
creating  new  wholes  out  of  the  store  of  experi- 
ences the  child  already  has.  fThe  associative 
imagination  is  finely  illustrated  in  the  com- 
parison of  the  swift  frigate  to  a  meteor,  and 
to  an  eagle,  and  the  men,  who  should  dis- 
mantle her,  to  harpies.  There  is  hardly  any 
poem  of  equal  length  that  so  exercises  the 
imagination,  and  throughout  it  all  there  is  a 
subtle  personification  which  makes  us  image 
the  great  ship  as  a  semi-sentient  thing. 

The  emotional  element  is  characterized  by 
vividness  rather  than  by  variety.  The  first 
stanza  makes  an  appeal  to  pride,  —  pride  in 
the  achievement  of  a  great  ship.  The  second 
stanza  induces  in  us  a  feeling  of  pity  for  her 
in  her  degradation  and  a  sense  of  the  ingrati- 


122      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

tude  of  a  nation  that  would  allow  the 
"eagle"  to  be  plucked  by  the  "harpies." 
The  third  stanza  is  an  appeal  to  poetic  jus- 
tice, —  a  demand  that  the  old  ship  be  given 
a  last  chance,  —  that  her  end  shall  be  in 
keeping  with  her  career,  —  that  in  fierce 
conflict  with  sea  and  storm,  with  her  flag 
nailed  to  the  mast,  she  should  go  down. 
Like  a  Viking  she  had  sailed  the  seas  and 
like  a  Viking  she  should  die. 

These  are  the  kinds  of  emotion  that  touch 
human  conduct  and  are,  therefore,  of  the 
highest  rank.  The  little  poem  stands  all  the 
tests  for  the  emotions.  In  presenting  it  to  a 
class  care  must  be  taken  that  these  emotions 
be  actually  experienced.  Children  should  be 
trained  to  state  the  feelings  which  words  and 
pictures  excite.  The  desires  aroused  should 
be  studied  by  the  teacher  and  worthy  ones 
should  be  fostered  so  that  they  take  the  form 
of  an  act  of  the  will.  Emotions  which  are 
allowed  to  dissipate  may  become  harmful 
and  degenerate  into  mere  sentimentality. 
There  is  no  better  subject  for  training  the 
will  than  literature.    In  the  realms  of  imag- 


A   MODEL    LESSON  123 

ination  and  emotion  the  child  is  a  king  or  a 
beggar,  as  he  pleases.  He  follows  his  own 
choices  and  impulses,  transforming  them 
into  deeds.  In  this  magic  land  he  not  only 
experiences  a  wide  range  of  desires  but 
makes  an  effort  to  realize  them.  Under  the 
laws  of  free  choice  and  exercise,  the  will 
grows  strong.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  literature  is  such  a  valuable  primary 
study.  It  is  not  given  mainly  as  an  informa- 
tion subject.  During  the  earlier  years  the 
training  of  the  imagination,  the  emotion, 
and  the  will,  is  far  more  important  than  the 
training  of  the  intellect. 

I  have  said  elsewhere  that  thought  is  fun- 
damental. The  leading  thought  should  be 
diligently  sought  for  and  expressed  in  the 
most  concise,  beautiful  language  possible. 
Every  child  should  make  his  own  statement, 
but  finally  the  best  only  should  be  accepted. 
The  central  thought  of  this  poem  may  be 
stated  as  follows :  A  nation  should  not  allow 
the  degradation  of  its  venerable  battleships. 
Such  a  statement  expresses  a  generalization 
and  is  secured  by  taking  the  thoughts  ex- 


1-24      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

pressed  separately  in  the  individual  stanzas, 
and  finding  the  principle  around  which  they 
are  grouped. 

The  form  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  con- 
tent. The  division  into  stanzas  marks  off 
clearly  the  separate  ideas.  The  short  lines 
give  a  sense  of  strength.  The  iambic  meter, 
being  the  meter  nearest  like  ordinaiy  speech, 
gives  ease  of  movement.  The  variation  of 
trochaic  measure,  especially  at  the  beginning 
of  lines,  as  in  "Nail  to  the  mast  her  holy 
flag,"  gives  added  strength  and  rapidity. 
The  rhyme  adds  richness  and  is  an  element 
of  beauty  as  is  the  effect  of  tone-color  in  the 
combinations  of  deep  vowels  and  liquid  con- 
sonants in  such  expressions  as  "the  cannon's 
roar"  and  "the  meteor  of  the  ocean."  The 
extra,  unaccented  syllables  in  stanza  one, 
lines  three  and  seven,  and  in  stanza  two, 
line  three,  give  a  feeling  of  excitement  or 
haste.  They  also  make  for  lightness  and 
variety.  The  diction  throughout  is  marked 
by  exactness  and  is  enhanced  by  beautiful 
imagery.  The  most  prominent  qualities  of 
the  style  are  force  and  clearness. 


A   MODEL   LESSON  125 

r 

The  presentation  should  culminate  in  oral 
reading.  The  teacher  should  read  it  first,  as 
a  whole,  as  impressively  as  possible,  bring- 
ing out  the  pictures,  the  emotions,  and  the 
thought.  The  children  should  also  read  the 
poem  as  a  whole.  Of  course,  there  should  be 
drill  upon  parts  of  it,  but  to  chop  it  up  into 
stanzas,  giving  each  to  a  separate  child,  with 
the  necessary  delays  between  them,  and  the 
variation  in  the  personal  element  and  con- 
ception, is  to  go  far  toward  making  the 
reading  ineffective. 

3.  Comparison.  The  teacher  will  think 
of  various  examples  in  history  with  which  to 
compare  the  ideas  of  this  poem.  This  study 
may  be  more  or  less  extensive  as  the  time  and 
occasion  may  require.  It  offers,  too,  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  for  the  correlation  of  his- 
tory and  literature.  A  comparative  study 
of  the  Monitor  and  the  Oregon  has  already 
been  suggested.  Shortly  before  the  appear- 
ance of  our  poem  the  Admiralty  of  England 
determined  to  cut  the  Victory,  a  one-hundred- 
gun  ship,  down  to  seventy-four  guns.  The 
Victory  was  Lord  Nelson's  flag-ship  at  the 


126      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

battle  of  Trafalgar.  When  the  order  was 
published  the  people  raised  such  an  outcry 
against  it  that  the  proposed  measure 
was  abandoned.  Other  studies  will  suggest 
themselves  to  the  wide-awake  teacher.  Chil- 
dren, if  put  upon  the  right  track,  delight  in 
running  down  such  things. 

4.  Generalization.  This  may  be  stated  as 
the  proposition  that  in  the  life  of  a  nation 
noble  sentiment  is  a  vital  force. 

5.  Application.  It  is  important  that 
school  problems  should  be  seen  as  life  prob- 
lems. Education  is  a  preparation  for  living. 
Good  citizenship  is  the  justification  of  the 
state  in  educating  its  youth.  A  valid  criti- 
cism against  the  schools  in  many  cases  is 
that  they  are  not  practical.  Here  is  an  op- 
portunity to  look  into  some  of  the  great  ques- 
tions of  public  polity.  Good  teaching  de- 
mands it.  As  far  as  time  will  allow,  consider 
the  pensioning  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  their 
widows  and  orphans,  aged  ministers  and 
teachers,  the  caring  for  the  insane  and  indi- 
gent old  people.  The  power  of  sentiment  in 
private  life  should  be  studied  in  regard  to 


A   MODEL    LESSON  127 

our  attitude  toward  old  servants,  old,  worn- 
out  horses,  etc.  The  field  offers  great  op- 
portunities to  a  real  teacher. 

Finally,  the  children  should  learn  the 
poem  by  heart.  Recall  it  from  time  to  time 
and  let  it  be  repeated  until  it  is  thoroughly 
fixed. 

It  may  not  be  possible,  nor  always  desir- 
able, to  go  into  so  much  detail  as  above.  The 
formal  steps  are  not  always  so  clearly  de- 
fined. To  use  a  chemical  figure,  they  are 
sometimes  held  in  solution  and  cannot  be 
thoroughly  precipitated.  Care  must  be 
taken  in  using  any  method  not  to  make  it  a 
"cut-and-dried"  affair.  Granting  that  the 
mind  acquires  knowledge  according  to  the 
principles  laid  down  in  apperception,  some 
such  order  of  study  must,  consciously  or  un- 
consciously, be  followed  in  order  to  achieve 
good  results. 


COURSE   OF  STUDY 

A  NY  such  course  as  the  following  can  be, 
at  best,  but  tentative.  Modifications 
must  necessarily  be  made.  Classes  of  pupils 
of  the  same  age  vary  more  or  less  in  different 
localities  and  from  year  to  year  in  the  same 
locality.  These  variations  are  not  only  in 
intellectual  ability  but  in  fineness  of  temper, 
in  home  training,  in  manners,  and  in  taste. 
All  these  things  must  be  taken  into  consider- 
ation by  the  teacher.  Things  suited  to  a 
certain  grade  class  may  be  too  elementary  or 
too  advanced  for  a  class  in  the  same  grade 
another  year. 

Then,  too,  the  lines  of  demarcation  be- 
tween the  grades  are  not  hard  and  fast.  In- 
deed, there  may  be  frequently  no  practical 
difference  in  the  ability  or  the  needs  of  con- 
tiguous grades.  The  demarcation  between 
the  fourth  and  fifth  grades  in  such  a  subject 
as  history  or  literature  may  at  times  be  hard 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  129 

to  find.  Where  the  material  differs  so  little 
in  quality,  logical  order  should  determine  the 
presentation.  The  psychological  develop- 
ment of  the  child  is  the  true  basis  for  classifi- 
cation of  literature  as  it  is  for  any  other  sub- 
ject. Here  of  course  general  statements 
only  can  be  made  and  general  conditions 
applied.  Any  scheme  must  be  more  or  less 
elastic.  It  must  be  adapted,  not  adopted, 
in  order  to  be  efficient. 

The  following  suggested  course  of  study 
does  not  pretend  to  be  exhaustive.  It  aims 
to  provide  a  methodical,  comprehensive,  and 
articulated  series  of  studies  for  all  the  grades. 
The  amount  of  work  for  each  grade  is  judged 
to  be  such  that  the  average  teacher  may 
hope  to  complete  it.  Additional  work  is 
provided  in  a  later  chapter.  Two  objects 
are  constantly  kept  in  mind : 

First,  material  that  is  intrinsically  inter- 
esting and  suitable. 

Second,  material  that  will  furnish  an 
equipment  for  an  intelligent  and  pleasurable 
reading  of  the  choice  literature  of  the  world. 

All  the  books  recommended  in  the  follow- 

9 


130      LITERATURE  IN  THE   COMMON  SCHOOLS 

ing  course  have  been  examined.  In  many 
cases  cheaper  texts  may  be  secured.  Some 
valid  reason  has  caused  the  selection  of  the 
ones  named,  such  as  type,  workmanship, 
beauty,  etc.  The  cost  of  books  is  thought  to 
be  well  within  the  limits  of  teachers  and 
pupils.  A  teacher's  library  indicates  the 
teacher,  as  his  kit  of  tools  does  the  carpen- 
ter. Certainly  every  school  should  have  an 
adequate  and  carefully  selected  library. 

Even  the  country  teacher,  who  is  in  earnest, 
will  find  plenty  of  ways  to  present  literature 
to  his  boys  and  girls.  In  Grades  VI,  VII, 
and  VIII,  most,  if  not  quite  all  the  work, 
may  be  done  by  placing  the  inexpensive 
texts  in  the  hands  of  the  pupils  and  by  de- 
voting a  part  of  the  time  usually  given  to  the 
readers  to  their  mastery.  This  plan  may 
be  followed  with  advantage  to  a  large  ex- 
tent in  the  lower  grades.  Such  work  not 
only  brings  about  desirable  results  from  a 
literary  standpoint  but  it  is  also  the  best 
means  of  developing  good  readers.  Under 
the  stimulus  of  real  literature,  suitable  to  the 
age  of  the  children,  much  of  the  mere  drill 


COURSE   OF    STUDY  131 

and  drudgery  of  the  ordinary  reading  lesson 
becomes  of  living  interest  and  is  done  with 
enthusiasm. 

In  every  school  there  should  be  a  recitation 
hour  set  apart  for  literature  and  it  should  be 
kept  sacred.  At  this  time  the  teacher  may 
read,  tell  stories,  or  have  some  of  the  pupils 
read  or  reproduce  what  has  been  previously 
given  them.  In  this  work,  several  grades 
may  be  combined  to  advantage,  e.  g.,  Grades 
I  and  II,  or  IV  and  V,  etc.  It  must  not  be 
supposed  that  the  lines  between  the  grades 
may  not  often  be  obliterated. 

The  usual  Friday  afternoon  exercises  offer 
another  good  opportunity  for  the  teaching 
and  appreciation  of  literature.  Many  short 
masterpieces  should  be  committed  to  mem- 
ory. The  finest  thoughts  of  the  finest  mas- 
ters should  be  the  permanent  possession  of 
the  children.  No  child  should  be  allowed  to 
learn  by  heart  anything  for  school  purposes 
except  the  choicest  things,  and  every  selection 
should  be  approved  by  the  teacher. 

Another  valuable  exercise,  from  the  stand- 
point of  literature,  is  to  present  a  long  story 


132      LITERATURE   IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

in  the  form  of  a  serial.  The  teacher  may 
read  a  chapter  or  a  division  from  week  to 
week  or,  perhaps  even  better,  he  may  ask 
various  pupils  to  prepare  beforehand  a 
given  amount  and  read  it.  I  know  by  ex- 
perience that  certain  long  productions  pre- 
sented in  this  way  are  received  enthusiasti- 
cally and  are  pretty  well  mastered. 

Books  are  for  use  and  no  teacher's  books 
are  too  good  to  be  lent  to  the  children,  on 
proper  occasion,  to  be  taken  home  and  read. 
Parents  become  interested  if  the  right  meth- 
ods are  used  and  genuine  regard  manifested. 
There  is  no  community  so  lethargic  nor  so 
uncultured  but  that  it  may  be  awakened  to 
an  interest  in  literature  by  a  wise  teacher. 
No  man  is  too  great  a  boor  to  enjoy  a  good 
story  and  no  woman  is  too  coarse  and  ig- 
norant to  appreciate  a  genuine  folk  tale. 
Literature  is  an  open  sesame  to  the  affection 
of  parents  as  well  as  of  children. 


COURSE   OF    STUDY  133 

GRADE   I  — FIRST   YEAR 

Note.  —  The  numbers  following  the 
topics  correspond  to  the  book  numbers  in 
the  Bibliography  on  page  197. 

Mother  Goose  Melodies.    1. 

It  has  been  said  that  literature  for  the 
child  begins  with  the  crooning  lullaby  of  the 
mother  and  is  continued  by  the  nonsense 
rhymes  and  jingles,  such  as  the  "Mother 
Goose  Melodies."  These  are  rightly  called 
"melodies"  because  they  have  literally  sung 
themselves  from  generation  to  generation 
into  the  hearts  of  children.  Mankind  has 
made  no  mistake  in  them.  They  are  per- 
manent literature.  It  is  no  matter  if  they 
do  seem  to  certain  adults  mere  nonsense. 
Their  versification  is  uniformly  good.  It  is 
full  of  rnythm  and  music.  The  child  in  re- 
peating them  is  getting  excellent  drill  in  ac- 
cent and  emphasis.  Poetical  form  becomes 
familiar.  They  also  train  the  ear,  quicken 
the  emotions,  and  stimulate  the  imagination. 
All  such  melodies  have  a  high  aesthetic  value 


134      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

for  the  children.  Mr.  Arlo  Bates  says  they 
are  "  The  only  alma  mater  with  rhymes  foolish 
but  rhythmical,  meaningless  but  musical." 

Let  it  be  frankly  admitted  that  these  melo- 
dies are  mere  jingle,  that  they  have  little  or 
no  content.  That  they  are  fanciful  things  is 
not  an  argument  against  them,  but  is  in  their 
favor.  The  six-year-old  child  lives  largely  in 
that  realm.  Moreover,  they  have  a  wonder- 
ful charm  as  mere  language.  They  are 
closely  allied  to  song,  and  children  give 
themselves  up  to  the  pleasure  of  sound.  The 
content  is  so  simple  that  the  beauty  of  phrase 
and  motion  is  emphasized.  They  are  full  of 
imagery.  The  rhythm  is  so  striking  as  not 
to  be  missed.  The  diction  is  choice  and  the 
alliteration  effective.  Let  the  teacher  make 
a  careful  study  of  "Sing  a  Song  of  Six- 
pence," just  to  see  how  rich  it  is  in  the 
qualities  mentioned. 

Mr.  Gummere,  in  his  "The  Beginnings  of 
Poetry,"  has  a  most  illuminating  discussion 
on  the  subject  of  rhythm.  It  is  a  funda- 
mental element  of  life  and  "The  essential 
fact  of  poetry."     Says  he,  p.  78,  "Rhythm 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  135 

is  the  prime  characteristic,  the  essential 
condition,  of  the  dance,  and  the  oldest 
poetry  is  by  common  consent  found  in  close 
alliance  with  dance  and  song."  He  goes  on 
to  show  how  "exact  rhythms  spring  from 
primitive  song,  dance,  and  labor,  mainly 
under  communal  conditions,  and  that  exact 
rhythm  lies  at  the  heart  of  poetry."  On  p. 
91  he  says  East  Africans  are  reported  to 
"  dance  in  crowds  to  the  rhythm  of  their  own 
voices,  as  well  as  to  the  drum,  moving  in 
cadence  with  the  songs  which  they  sing.  .  .  . 
When  cleaning  rice,  they  work  to  the  rhythm 
of  songs,  to  foot-stamping  and  hand-clapping 
of  the  bystanders."  The  inevitable  conclu- 
sion, says  he,  is  that  "dance,  poetry,  and 
song  were  once  a  single  and  inseparable 
function."  Of  the  child  he  says,  p.  102,  that 
"he  is  a  sworn  foe  to  defective  meter,  and 
boggles  at  it ;  indeed,  such  defects  are  hard 
to  find  in  all  the  amiable  nonsense.  The 
child's  ear  for  rhythm  is  acute;  his  execu- 
tion of  it  in  choral  or  in  verse  learned  from 
hearing  is  precise ;  his  demands  upon  it  are 
the  strictest."    In  his  "Talks  on  the  Study 


136      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

of  Literature"  Mr.  Arlo  Bates  says,  "There 
are  few  characteristics  more  general  in  the 
race  of  man  than  that  responsiveness  to 
rhythm  which  is  the  foundation  of  the  love 
of  verse." 

How  significant  these  statements  are ! 
The  range  of  poetry  is  as  wide  and  varied 
as  life  itself.  The  "Mother  Goose  Melo- 
dies" are  the  earliest  literary  material  of 
children.  They  make  their  appeal  to  cer- 
tain instincts  before  children  can  talk.  The 
rhythm  in  them  cannot  be  missed.  They 
are  always  fresh.  We  never  outgrow  them 
as  we  do  mere  trash. 

Then  too,  most  children  come  to  school 
with  an  interest  already  in  these  jingles, 
which  therefore  does  not  need  to  be  awak- 
ened. This  is  a  logical  beginning  place.  A 
moment  here  and  there  throughout  the  day 
may  be  given  them.  Such  moments  will 
lighten  their  tasks,  quiet  tense  nerves,  and 
make  for  good  conduct.  These  little  poems 
also  offer  exceptional  advantages  to  children 
in  learning  to  read,  because  many  of  them 
are  already  known  by  heart.     From  the  oral 


COURSE    OF   STUDY  137 

knowledge  of  word  and  poem  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  word  and  poem  of  the  printed 
page  is  an  easy  and  fascinating  step. 

Most  of  us  as  teachers  need  to  be  cau- 
tioned about  using  everything  because  it 
happens  to  be  in  a  book.  Judicious  selection 
should  become  a  habit.  Some  of  the  choicest 
of  the  "Mother  Goose  Melodies"  are: 

"Jack  and  Jill." 

"Hey  Diddle  Diddle." 

"The  Old  Woman  Who  Lived  in  a  Shoe." 

"Little  Miss  Muffett." 

"Rub-a-dub-dub." 

"Hickory,  Dickory,  Dock." 

"Little  Boy  Blue." 

"Little  Bo-Peep." 

"Ding,  Dong,  Bell." 

"Sing  a  Song  of  Sixpence." 

"There  Was  a  Man  in  Our  Town." 

"There  Was  a  Crooked  Man." 

"I  Saw  an  Old  Woman." 

"Pease  Porridge  Hot." 

"Tom,  Tom,  the  Piper's  Son." 

"Old  King  Cole." 

"Simple  Simon." 


138      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

"London  Bridge." 
"Cock  Robin." 

Cumulative  Tales.    1. 

Cumulative  tales  logically  follow  the 
"melodies"  as  the  easiest  way  of  combining 
a  number  of  incidents.  The  method  is 
primitive  and  the  result  dear  to  the  heart 
of  childhood.  Three  of  the  prime  favorites 
are: 

"The  House  That  Jack  Built." 

* '  Henny-Penny . ' ' 

"The  Old  Woman  and  Her  Pig." 

Proverbs.    1. 

Proverbs  contain  some  of  the  finest  wis- 
dom of  the  race,  reduced  to  the  lowest  terms 
of  thought  and  language.  Some  of  the  best 
ones  are: 

"A  stitch  in  time  saves  nine," 

"A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the 
bush." 

"Little  strokes  fell  great  oaks." 

"Constant  dropping  wears  away  the 
stone." 

"East,  west,  home  is  best." 


COURSE   OF    STUDY  139 

Fables.    1. 

These  have  been  called  "The  small  coin 
of  thought."  They  are  among  the  things 
which  the  race  has  elected  to  remember. 
The  best  ones  "have  been  told  to  children 
since  the  world  was  young."  They  are 
short  and  full  of  fine  imagination.  In  them, 
animals  are  the  natural  companions  of  men 
and  talk  as  they  do.  They  are  full  of  novelty 
and  interest.  The  object  of  every  fable  is  a 
moral.  The  lesson  was  seized  upon  first 
and  the  characters  chosen  to  fit  it.  Some 
of  the  most  noted  ones  are: 

"The  Mouse  and  the  Lion." 

"The  Fox  and  the  Grapes." 

"The  Tortoise  and  the  Hare." 

Nursery  Tales.    2. 

"The  Three  Bears." 

"Mother  Hubbard  and  Her  Dog." 

"Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee." 

"The  Three  Bears"  is  one  of  the  stories 
not  to  be  omitted.  While  its  present  form 
is  the  work  of  Robert  Southey,  its  origin  is 
probably  an  old  folk  tale.     It  has  all  the 


140    LITERATURE    IN   THE   COMMON    SCHOOLS 

"ear-marks"  of  the  old  folk  stories  and  is  a 
never-ending  delight  to  children.  There  are 
various  modernized  versions,  but  care  should 
be  taken  to  secure  the  original  one  which  is 
the  best. 

Hiawatha's  Childhood  (Longfellow).    3. 

The  work  for  this  grade  should  consist  of 
lines  64  to  143,  Part  III  of  "The  Song  of 
Hiawatha."  They  are  best  grouped  into 
seven  short  sections,  as  follows : 

Lines  64  to  73. 

Lines  74  to  85. 

Lines  86  to  97. 

Lines  98  to  116. 

Lines  117  to  126. 

Lines  127  to  135. 

Lines  136  to  143. 

The  work  may  be  presented  best  as  a 
series  of  stories,  each  section  being  taken  as 
a  unit.  Careful  preparation  for  reading  the 
verse  should  be  made  by  oral  work,  illustra- 
tions on  the  blackboard,  pictures,  objects, 
etc.  All  the  new  words  should  be  under- 
stood, and  recognized  at  sight.  Each  lesson 
should  take  the  form  of  an  oral  story,  told  by 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  141 

the  teacher  and  given  back  by  the  pupils. 
The  section  should  then  be  presented  in  its 
original  form.  Practice  in  oral  reading 
should  follow,  and  the  passage  be  memorized. 
There  is  no  finer  material  than  this  for  the 
little  folk. 

Classic  Myths.    4. 

There  is  no  book  specially  arranged  for 
primary  grades.  Here  the  teacher  must 
adapt  the  story.  The  most  primary  nature 
myths  should  be  first  selected.  The  children 
already  have  a  more  or  less  rudimentary 
knowledge  of  mother  nature  and  are  trying 
to  fathom  her  mysteries  much  as  did  the 
grown  up  children  of  long  ago.  "Day  and 
night,  the  golden  glory  of  the  sun  and  the 
softer  radiance  of  the  moon,  the  flush  of 
sunrise  and  the  gorgeous  grandeur  of  de- 
parting day,  the  glimmering  stars  shining 
through  the  loopholes  of  the  dark,  the  mys- 
tery of  the  changing  clouds,  the  rustling 
leaves,  the  powerful  winds  of  winter,  the 
snow,  the  rain,  the  flash  and  crash  of  storm, 
all  these  the  children  know."     It  has  been 


142     LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

aptly  said  "An  intense  love  of  nature,  an 
enriched  imagination,  a  strengthened  ethical 
sentiment,  may  confidently  be  expected 
from  a  study  of  these  ancient  world  myths." 
Use  in  this  grade,  "Apollo,"  "Diana," 
"Aurora,"  "Daphne,"  "Clytie,"  and  "The 
Pleiades." 

The  Bible. 
Adapt : 

(a)  Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den.  A  story 
of  great  possibilities. 

(b)  The  Prodigal  Son.  A  story  wonderful 
in  the  beauty  of  simplicity.  It  touches  the 
deepest  emotion  of  home  life,  emphasizes 
the  father  love,  points  an  effective  moral, 
and  shows  the  working  of  envy.  The  back- 
ground of  oriental  life  makes  a  vivid  setting 
for  the  story  which  is  itself  full  of  imagery 
and  action. 

Suggested  for  Memorizing.    5. 

"The  Baby  "  —  George  Macdonald. 
"Cock  Robin  "  —  Mother  Goose. 
"The    Dewdrop" — Frank    Dempster 
Sherman. 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  143 

"Good-Night  and  Good-Morning"  — 
Richard  Monckton  Milnes. 

"I  Saw  a   Ship  A-Sailing" —  Mother 
Goose. 

"Mary  Had  a  Little  Lamb  "  —  Hall. 

"The  Rain  is   Raining  All  Around"  — 
Stevenson. 

"Sleep,      Baby,      Sleep"  —  From      the 
German. 

"Sweet  and  Low  "  —  Tennyson. 

"Twinkle,     Twinkle,     Little     Star"  — 
Taylor. 

"The  Wind  "  —  Stevenson. 

"Who  Has  Seen  the  Wind  "  —  Rossetti. 

Proverbs. 


GRADE   II  — SECOND   YEAR 

Fables  and  Folk  Stories.    1. 

(a)  Fairy  tales  that  every  child  ought  to 
know,  —  the  oldest  and  best  in  the  world: 

"Little  One  Eye,  Little  Two  Eyes,  and 
Little  Three  Eyes." 

"Little  Red  Riding  Hood." 


144     LITERATURE   IN   THE  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

"Jack  and  the  Bean  Stalk." 

"Puss  in  Boots." 

"Tom  Thumb." 

"Cinderella,  or  the  Glass  Slipper." 

"The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Wood." 

"Beauty  and  the  Beast." 

"The  White  Cat." 

(b)  Fables: 

"The  Wind  and  the  Sun." 

"The  Goose  That  Laid  Golden  Eggs." 

"The  Lark  and  Her  Young  Ones." 

"The  Wolf  and  the  Lamb." 

Hiawatha's  Childhood  (Longfellow).    2. 

The  work  for  this  grade  should  consist  of 
lines  144  to  235,  Part  III,  of  "The  Song  of 
Hiawatha."  They  are  best  grouped  into 
seven  short  sections,  as  follows: 

Lines  144  to  150. 

Lines  151  to  158. 

Lines  159  to  172. 

Lines  173  to  192. 

Lines  193  to  209. 

Lines  210  to  222. 

Lines  223  to  235. 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  145 

Pursue  the  same  method  as  in  the  previ- 
ous grade.  A  review  of  the  book  as  a  whole 
should  follow  and  all  the  lessons  presented 
consecutively  and  as  a  unit.  The  funda- 
mental law  of  unity  should  not  be  missed. 

Classic  Myths.    3. 

Follow  the  same  method  as  laid  down 
for  Grade  I.  Adapt,  "Ceres,"  "Neptune," 
"Mercury,"  "Proserpine,"  and  "  ^Eolus." 

The  Bible. 
Adapt : 

(a)  Noah's  Ark. 

(b)  The  Appearance  of  the  Shepherds. 

Suggested  for  Memorizing.    4. 

"Bed  in  Summer"  —  Stevenson. 

"A  Boy's  Song"  —  James  Hogg. 
,   "A  Dutch  Lullaby"  —  Eugene  Field. 

"He  Did  n't  Think"  —  Cary. 

"The  Lamb"  —  William  Blake. 

"The  Land  of  Story  Books "  — Steven- 
son. 

"Little  Gustava"  —  Celia  Thaxter. 

"My  Shadow"  —  Stevenson. 

10 


14G    LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

"The      Rock-a-By      Lady "  —  Eugene 
Field. 

"Seven  Times  One"  —  Jean  Ingelow. 
"What  the  Birds  Say"  —  Coleridge. 
"For  My  Country"  —  Selected. 
Proverbs. 


GRADE   III  — THIRD   YEAR 

Grimm's  Folk  Tales.    1. 

A  few  only  of  the  choicest  of  these  wonder 
tales  can  be  utilized  in  class.  While  the  best 
results  in  this  grade  will  be  obtained  by  an 
oral  presentation  first  and  then  by  reading, 
the  children  should  be  encouraged  to  take 
up  new  things  alone.  This  should  be  done 
under  the  direction  and  approval  of  the 
teacher.  Such  stories  as  these  are  to  be  read 
very  soon  after  the  child  has  mastered  the 
mechanics  of  the  art.  If  he  waits  until  he 
has  finished  the  school  readers  he  misses 
much  of  the  pleasure.  Some  of  the  finest 
ones  are: 

"Snow- White  and  Rose-Red." 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  147 

"The  Hare  and  the  Tortoise." 
"The  Bremen  Town  Musicians." 
"The  Goose  Girl." 
"Hansel  and  Grethel." 
"  Rumpelstiltskin." 

Hans  Andersen's  Stories.    2. 

These  are  genuine  literary  tales,  con- 
sciously put  into  artistic  form.  They  provide 
an  easy  step  from  the  fables  and  folk  tales. 
The  didactic  element  is  not  so  prominent. 
They  are  more  imaginative  and  the  play  of 
humor  is  often  noticeable.  They  naturally 
and  easily  lead  out  into  the  more  pretentious 
literature  of  the  higher  grades. 

Study : 

"The  Ugly  Duckling." 

"The  Princess  on  the  Pea." 

"The  Pine  Tree." 

"The  Beetle." 

Robinson  Crusoe  (De  Foe).    3. 

This  is  the  greatest  story  ever  written  for 
boys.  It  should  not  be  omitted.  It  furn- 
ishes a  transition  from  myth  and  fairy  tale 
to  real  biography.     It  is  an  interesting  nar- 


148    LITERATURE    IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

rative  and  of  great  educational  value  in 
teaching  character.  "The  indestructible 
vitality  of  this  book  must  be  sought,  not  alone 
in  the  entertainment  it  affords,  but  chiefly 
in  its  symbolism.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  Robinson's  experiences  possess  a  deep, 
symbolic  meaning.  His  life  upon  the  lonely 
island  is  in  a  certain  sense  the  life  of  man- 
kind, which,  launched  as  it  were  into  exist- 
ence upon  earth  with  but  scanty  equipment, 
by  the  exercise  of  great  ingenuity  and  at  the 
expense  of  endless  hardships,  in  the  course 
of  history,  converts  the  uncertain  conditions 
to  which  it  awoke  upon  the  dawn  of  self- 
consciousness,  into  one  of  passable  com- 
fort." —  Rein. 

"There  is  no  child's  classic  which  so 
brings  them  into  touch  with  the  primitive 
life  of  man,  nor  which  so  forcibly  brings  be- 
fore them  man's  physical  requirements  and 
the  steps  involved  in  their  attainment.  .  .  . 
All  this  will  be  made  doubly  real  and  interest- 
ing to  them,  if  they  are  allowed  to  carry  out 
the  drama  for  themselves.  To  this  end, 
every  suitable  means  which  the  teacher  can 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  149 

devise  should  be  used  to  enable  lbs  children 
to  enter  personally  into  all  the  trials  and 
triumphs  of  De  Foe's  hero."  —  Cowles. 

Classic  Myths.    4. 

Use  the  same  method  as  in  Grades  I 
and  II.  Present,  "Vulcan,"  "Narcissus," 
"Prometheus,"  and  "The  Deluge." 

Bible  Stories.    5. 

The  stories  in  the  book  recommended  are 
taken  from  the  Old  Testament  and  are 
among  the  most  famous  and  the  most  fasci- 
nating in  existence.  "It  has  been  the  aim 
of  the  author  to  retell  these  stories  from  a 
literary  standpoint,  and  in  the  same  manner 
as  he  would  retell  other  stories  pertaining  to 
the  infancy  of  the  human  race.  He  has 
endeavored  to  represent  the  actors  in  them 
as  real  men  and  women  inhabiting  the  same 
world  as  ourselves ;  and,  while  it  has  been 
neither  possible  nor  desirable  to  omit  fre- 
quent allusions  to  the  supernatural,  care  has 
been  taken  not  to  trespass  on  the  domain  of 
the  religious  teacher."  The  twelve  stories 
are  interestingly  told,  and  the  style  is  simple 


150    LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

and  pleasing.  They  may  be  studied  sepa- 
rately or  as  a  continuous  narrative.  The 
longer  stories  are  carefully  divided  into 
units,  each  of  which  may  be  taken  as  a 
lesson.  For  example  there  are  nine  little 
chapters  about  Joseph,  six  about  Samson, 
and  five  about  David.  These  are  especially 
for  this  grade.  They  may  be  adapted  easily 
by  the  teacher  for  oral  presentation  and 
later  read  by  the  children.  The  book  may 
be  used  as  a  reader  in  Grade  IV. 

Suggested  for  Memorizing.    6. 

"The  Brown  Thrush"  —  Lucy  Larcom. 
"The  Child's  World"  — Selected. 
"A  Farewell"  —  Charles  Kingsley. 
"  A    Farm- Yard     Song  "  —  John     T. 
Trowbridge. 

"If  I  Were  a  Sunbeam"  —  Lucy  Larcom. 
"Marjorie's  Almanac"  —  T.  B.  Aldrich. 
"The  Miller  of  Dee"  —  Mackay. 
"The  Owl"  —  Tennyson. 
"The  Piper"  —  William  Blake. 
"The   Spider    and     the    Fly"  — Mary 

HOWITT. 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  151 

"The  Violet"  — Taylor. 

"A  Visit  from  St.  Nicholas"  —  Moore. 

Proverbs  and  Popular  Sayings. 


GRADE   IV  — FOURTH   YEAR 

Note  —  In  this  and  the  following  grades, 
texts  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  children,  and  the  study  be 
made  from  them. 

Hiawatha  (Longfellow).    1. 

Read  the  whole  poem.  Connect  the  work 
with  that  previously  done  in  Grades  I  and  II. 
If  time  presses,  carry  the  work  over  into 
Grade  V.  This  poem  is  not  to  be  omitted, 
since  it  contains  in  the  most  admirable  form 
our  finest  Indian  legends. 

Kingsley'a  Greek  Heroes.    2. 

This  is  a  collection  of  Greek  hero  tales 
about  Perseus,  the  Argonauts,  and  Theseus. 
The  stories  are  fifteen  in  number  and  are 
written  in  a  style  which  preserves  well  the 
simplicity  and  primitive  nature  of  the  origi- 


152     LITERATURE    IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

nal  tales.  In  my  judgment,  the  book  is 
better  adapted  to  children  than  Hawthorne's 
"Wonder  Book,"  which  covers  much  the 
same  ground. 

Viking  Tales  (Hall).    3. 

This  is  a  fascinating  book  about  kings, 
battles,  and  sea  rovers.  It  is  also  an  interest- 
ing chapter  in  American  history.  I  Quote 
from  the  Suggestion  to  Teachers: 

"These  Norse  stories  have,  to  my  think- 
ing, three  values.  The  men,  with  the  crude 
courage  and  the  strange  adventures  that 
make  a  man  interesting  to  the  children,  have 
at  the  same  time  a  love  of  the  truth,  the  hardy 
endurance,  and  the  faithfulness  to  plighted 
word,  that  make  them  a  child's  companions. 
I  should  deem  it  a  great  thing  accomplished 
if  the  children  who  read  these  stories  should 
be  so  tempted  after  awhile  to  read  those  fine 
old  books,  to  enjoy  the  tales,  to  appreciate 
straightforwardness  and  simplicity  of  style. 
The  historical  value  of  the  story  of  Leif 
Ericson  and  the  others  seems  to  me  to  be  not 
the  learning  of  the  fact  that  Norsemen  dis- 


COURSE    OF   STUDY  153 

covered  America  before  Columbus  did,  but 
the  gaining  of  a  conception  of  the  conditions 
of  early  navigation,  of  the  length  of  the  voy- 
age, of  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  ...  of  why 
the  Norsemen  did  not  travel,  of  what  was 
necessary  to  be  done  before  men  should 
strike  out  across  the  sea." 

The  style  and  atmosphere  of  the  book  are 
well  worthy  of  the  subject. 

The  Arabian  Nights.    4. 

Perhaps  these  are  the  most  famous  stories 
of  their  kind  in  the  world.  Everyone  likes 
to  read  them  sooner  or  later.  They  are  pop- 
ular the  world  over,  and  are  related  still 
whenever  there  is  a  gathering  of  Arabs  or 
Turks  in  the  tents  or  in  the  cities.  They  are 
pure  narrative,  without  any  moral  lessons, 
and  are  intended  for  amusement  only.  Ed- 
ward Everett  Hale  says:  "Some  of  the 
stories  in  the  '  Arabian  Nights '  have  become 
so  completely  a  part  of  modern  literature 
that  ignorance  of  them  would  be  considered 
indicative  of  dulness.  To  allude  to  'Alad- 
din's Lamp,'  to  allude  to  'Sinbad  the  Sailor,' 


154    LITERATURE   IN  THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

to  allude  to  the  'Barmecide's  Feast/  is  to 
refer  to  narratives  of  which  it  is  supposed 
that  persons  of  tolerable  education  have 
some  knowledge,  just  as  they  are  supposed 
to  know  what  is  meant  by  the  words,  the 
'  Discovery  of  America,'  the  'Declaration 
of  Independence,'  or  the  'Fall  of  Rome.'" 
The  ones  not  to  be  omitted  are: 

"The  Story  of  Aladdin;  or  The  Wonder- 
ful Lamp."J 

"The  History  of  Ali  Baba  and  the  Forty 
Robbers." 

"The  Story  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor." 

"The  Barmecide  Feast." 

The  Pig  Brother  and  Other  Fables  (Richards).    6. 

An  ideal  book  of  short  stories  and  a  few 
poems.  Strong  in  imagination  and  emotion. 
The  ethical  element  is  handled  incidentally 
but  very  effectively.  The  style  is  delight- 
ful. Excellent  for  Grades  IV  and  V  as  a 
supplementary  reader. 

Bible  Stories.    6. 

The  book  mentioned  in  the  Bibliography 
contains  reproductions  of  some  of  the  great 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  155 

religious  pictures.  Read  especially  the 
stories  adapted  from  the  New  Testament 
and  such  from  the  Old  Testament  as  have 
not  been  utilized  in  the  previous  grades. 
The  stories  are  charmingly  told. 

Suggested  for  Memorizing.    7. 

"The  Barefoot  Boy"  —  Whittier. 

"The  Children's  Hour"  —  Longfellow. 

"The  Daffodils"  —  Wordsworth. 

"The  Fairy  Song"  —  Shakespeare. 

"The  Fountain"  —  Lowell. 

"Jack  Frost"  —  Gould. 

"The  Mountain  and  the  Squirrel"  — 
Emerson. 

"Rain  in  Summer"  —  Longfellow. 

"The  Sea"  —  Adelaide  Proctor. 

"September"  —  Helen  Hunt  Jackson. 

"He  Prayeth  Well "  —  Coleridge. 

"The  Old  Oaken  Bucket "  — Samuel 
Wood  worth. 

Proverbs  and  Popular  Sayings. 


156    LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 


GRADE   V— FIFTH   YEAR 

Tales  of  Troy  (De  Garmo).     1. 

These  stories  are  from  Homer's  Iliad,  one 
of  the  few  world-books.  They  form  a  com- 
plete narrative.  The  material  is  intrinsically 
interesting  and  admirably  suited  to  the 
heroic  age  of  childhood,  the  age  about  eleven 
or  twelve.  The  style  is  clear  and  strong. 
For  one  to  say  that  he  is  ignorant  of  this 
Greek  epic  is  almost  as  condemning  as  to 
say  that  he  is  ignorant  of  Shakespeare  or 
the  Bible. 

The  King  of  the  Golden  River  (Ruskin).    2. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  literary 
fairy  tales.  The  style  is  superb.  The  moral 
lesson  of  unselfishness  is  most  illuminating. 
The  story  is  a  delight  to  older  people  as  well 
as  to  children  and  offers  a  fine  introduction 
to  one  of  our  most  charming  writers.  It  is 
not  to  be  omitted. 

Norse  Stories  (Mabie).    3. 

Ruder  than  the  classic  stories,  —  not  such 
fine  finish.    They  carry  with  them  the  very 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  157 

breath  of  the  Viking  age,  —  full  of  vigorous 
action,  heroic  adventure,  and  charming 
imagination.  These  are  the  beginnings  of 
Teutonic  literature,  of  which  English  is  a 
branch.  The  style  is  finished.  The  stories 
may  be  read  to  the  pupils  or  by  them  individ- 
ually. They  may  be  told  with  profit  to  the 
pupils  as  low  down  as  the  third  grade.  The 
book  is  well  adapted  to  library  or  home  use. 

Arthurian  Legends.    4. 

The  beauty  of  these  legends  is  not  sur- 
passed. Next  to  Christianity,  chivalry  has 
been  the  greatest  influence  in  the  develop- 
ment of  worthy  manhood.  "The  practices 
of  chivalry  were  designed  to  cultivate  in  men 
that  courage  and  gentleness  and  high  sense 
of  honor  essential  in  all  ages,  to  ideal  char- 
acter. .  .  .  The  institution  of  chivalry  is 
dead ;  but  its  spirit  is  immortal,  and  makes 
its  home  in  whatever  heart  is  great  and  gen- 
erous enough  to  harbor  it."  The  legends  are 
told  in  simple,  well-written  prose. 

Gulliver's  Travels  (Swift).    5. 

One  of  the  greatest  stories  and  satires  in 


158     LITERATURE    IN   THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

the  world.  Study  it  as  a  story.  The  mean- 
ing and  moral  are  so  clear  that  for  most 
children  there  is  no  need  to  point  them  out. 
"The  book  combines  in  a  measure  the  inter- 
ests of  'Robinson  Crusoe'  and  that  of  the 
fairy  tale;  its  style  is  objective;  the  narra- 
tive and  the  matter  appeal  strongly  to  the 
childish  imagination.  For  more  mature  boys 
and  girls,  and  for  adults,  the  interest  is  found 
chiefly  in  the  keen  satire  which  underlies  the 
narrative.  It  appeals,  therefore,  to  a  very 
wide  range  of  intelligence  and  taste,  and  can 
be  read  with  profit  by  the  child  of  ten  and 
by  the  young  man  or  woman  of  mature 
years." 

Bible  Stories  in  Scripture  Language.    6. 

Dealing  with  stories  that  by  this  time 
should  be  known  to  the  child,  the  volume 
recommended  introduces  him  to  the  noblest 
of  English  prose,  the  King  James  Version 
of  the  Bible.  There  is  scarcely  anything 
more  desirable  than  an  intimate  knowledge, 
appreciation,  and  love  of  this  language.  It 
is   pretty   clearly   demonstrated   that   these 


COURSE    OF  STUDY  159 

things  cannot  be  trusted  to  the  home  and  to 
the  Sunday  School. 

Suggested  for  Memorizing.    7. 

"Aladdin"  —  Lowell. 

"The  Arrow  and  the  Song"  —  Long- 
fellow. 

"Barbara  Frietchie" — Whittier. 

"The  Day  is  Done"  —  Longfellow. 

"How  Sleep  the  Brave"  —  Collins. 

"The  Landing  of  the  Pilgrims" —  He- 
mans. 

"The  Planting  of  the  Apple  Tree"  — 
Bryant. 

"Stay,  Stay  at  Home,  My  Heart"— 
Longfellow. 

"The  Three  Fishers"  —  Kingsley. 

"To  a  Fringed  Gentian"  —  Bryant. 

"Under  the  Greenwood  Tree"  —  Shake- 
speare. 

"The  World  Wants  Men"  —  Anonymous. 

"You    Are     Old,     Father     William"  — 

SOUTHEY. 

Proverbs  and  Popular  Sayings. 


100     LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 


GRADE  VI  —  SIXTH  YEAR 

The  Adventures  of  Ulysses  (Lamb).    1. 

These  should  follow  "The  Tales  of  Troy." 
Together  they  make  a  complete  story  of  the 
fall  of  Troy  and  the  return  of  Ulysses.  The 
editor  says  in  the  introduction:  "It  brings 
the  child  in  contact  with  the  Odyssey,  — 
that  fountain  head  of  romance,  perhaps  the 
most  fascinating  single  book  in  the  world, 
and  also  with  Lamb  himself,  one  of  the  most 
charming  of  all  English  prose  writers.  Its 
perusal  will  almost  of  necessity  induce  a  de- 
sire for  further  acquaintance  with  Homer.'* 
The  style  is  exquisite.  Most  of  the  material 
is  that  which  every  reader  must  know  about. 
Ulysses  himself  is  one  of  the  child's  favorite 
heroes.  He  is  a  good  fighter,  active  and 
strong.  He  is  ready  at  every  emergency,  — 
full  of  wiles  and  expedients.  His  most  noted 
trait  of  character,  deception,  endears  him 
to  children.  It  is  a  savage  trait,  and,  in  a 
sense,  children  are  little  savages.  A  study 
of  Ulysses  should  lead  them  to  see  that  even 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  161 

the    greatest    character    may    have    some 
defects. 


Snowbound  (Whittier).    2. 

Not  to  be  omitted.  It  is  the  most  charming 
idyl  in  American  poetry,  —  a  picture  of  the 
homely  New  England  country  life  of  half  a 
century  ago.  It  appeals  to  the  deep  domes- 
tic relations  and  is  full  of  beautiful  descrip- 
tions and  high  thoughts  about  life,  death, 
and  eternity.  It  is  a  noble  poem  of  life  and 
some  of  its  finest  portions  should  be  memo- 
rized.    It  is  a  great  favorite  with  children. 

The  edition  mentioned  in  the  Bibliog- 
raphy also  contains  Whittier's  "  Songs  of 
Labor,"  in  which  labor  is  dignified  and 
beautified.  The  material  is  excellent  and 
well  suited  to  this  grade. 

The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish  (Longfellow).    3. 

A  fine  picture  of  Puritan  life.  Interesting 
from  start  to  finish.  Full  of  delightful  char- 
acters. The  poem  should  be  read  in  the 
class  and  attention  called  to  the  verse  form. 
It  is  excellent  in  many  ways  for  class  work. 

n 


162     LITERATURE  IN   THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

Adventures  of  Robin  Hood.    4. 

Some  of  our  most  humorous  and  enter- 
taining stories.  Mr.  Pyle's  book  introduces 
us  to  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  popular  heroes 
and  his  band.  It  ought  to  awaken  a  desire 
to  read  the  fine  old  ballads  from  which  the 
stories  are  taken.  "For  honest  purposes 
manfully  followed,  and  hard  knocks  cour- 
ageously endured,  must  always  interest  the 
wholesome  boy;  while  nature  is  so  closely 
allied  to  man  in  the  golden  days  of  his  green 
youth  that  tales  of  the  Greenwood,  where  the 
leaves  rustle  and  the  birds  sing,  and  all  the 
air  is  full  of  the  sweet  savors  of  growing 
things,  must  ever  have  a  potent  charm  for 
the  fresh  imagination  of  childhood.  .  .  . 
The  adventures  of  Robin  Hood,  sung  in 
song  and  ballad,  have  entertained  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  hearers  from  the  time  that  English 
first  began  to  form  itself  into  a  language,  and 
I  find  they  charm  the  young  readers  of  to- 
day as  they  delighted  the  young  hearers  of 
five  hundred  years  and  more  ago."  — 
Preface. 

The  references  in  our  literature  to  these 


COURSE    OF   STUDY  163 

tales  are  legion.    They  are  among  the  things 
not  to  be  omitted. 


Selections  from  Irving's  Sketch  Book.    5. 

A  good  introduction  to  the  man  whom 
Thackeray  styles  "The  first  ambassador 
sent  by  the  New  World  of  letters  to  the  Old," 
"The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow"  and  "Rip 
Van  Winkle"  are  classics  and  no  one  has  a 
right  to  rob  children  of  their  fun  and  humor. 
In  the  latter,  "The  dreamy  beauty  of  the 
Catskills,  a  poetic  old  legend,  the  quaint- 
ness  of  Dutch  life,  and  the  bustle  of  small 
politics  under  a  republic  are  all  combined 
and  harmonized  with  wonderful  skill ;  and 
there  is  no  finer  character  sketch  in  our  liter- 
ature than  the  lovable  old  vagabond,  Rip, 
as  he  goes  slouching  through  the  village,  his 
arms  full  of  children,  a  troop  of  dogs  at  his 
heels,  and  the  shrill,  pursuing  voice  of  Dame 
Winkle  dying  away  in  the  distance.  " — 
Bronson. 

Irving's  personality  is  full  of  charm,  un- 
affected, and  mirrors  a  mind  which  took  de- 
light in  things  beautiful  and  noble.    One  of 


164      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

the  greatest  values  of  literature  is  an  intimate 
association  with  such  personalities. 

Tales  of  the  White  Hills  (Hawthorne).    6. 

"The  Great  Stone  Face,"  one  of  the 
stories  in  this  volume,  has  not  its  superior 
for  children,  in  English.  Its  lesson  is  the 
unmatched  power  of  an  ideal  in  the  build- 
ing of  character.  The  other  stories  are  ad- 
mirable, especially  "The  Great  Carbuncle." 
Hawthorne's  style  is  noteworthy. 

Hellenic  Tales  (Carpenter).    7. 

Adaptations  in  simple,  lucid  style  of  some 
of  the  most  famous  stories  of  Greek  mythol- 
ogy. A  knowledge  of  this  material  is  indis- 
pensable to  an  intelligent  reading  of  much 
English  literature. 

Suggested  for  Memorizing.    8. 

"  Abou  Ben  Adhem  "  —  Hunt. 

"Cleon  and  I  "  —  Mackay. 

"The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib "  — 
Byron. 

"Hats  Off !  The  Flag  is  Passing  by  "  — 
Bennett. 

"The  Last  Leaf  "  —  Holmes. 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  165 

"My  Native  Land  "  —  Scott. 
"Old  Ironsides  "  —  Holmes. 
"The  Owl  "  —  Shakespeare. 
"The  Shell  "  —  Tennyson. 
"The  Skylark  "  —  Hogg. 
"The  Snowstorm  "  —  Emerson. 
"To  a  Skylark  "  —  Wordsworth. 
Proverbs  and  Popular  Sayings. 


GRADE   VII  — SEVENTH  YEAR 

Evangeline  (Longfellow).    1. 

This  poem  is  one  of  our  classics.  Pro- 
fessor Bronson  says,  "In  'Evangeline'  he 
worked  upon  a  story  of  singular  beauty  and 
pathos,  and  had  a  heroine  whose  pure  and 
gentle  nature  he  was  peculiarly  fitted  to 
portray.  In  truth,  Evangeline  seems  less  an 
individual  character  than  an  ideal  abstrac- 
tion, the  embodimemt  of  a  woman's  death- 
less love.  The  setting  is  vitally  related  to 
the  central  figure.  ...  In  Part  Second  the 
descriptions  contrast  Evangeline's  solitude 
with  the  regained  happiness  of  her  friends, 


1GG     LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

and  help  the  reader  to  realize  the  vastness 
and  the  wildness  of  the  west  and  the  conse- 
quent heroism,  yet  hopelessness  of  the 
search.  The  final  meeting  of  the  aged  lovers 
...  is  a  picture  ...  of  spiritual  love  im- 
mortal amidst  the  body's  decay.  The  meter 
of  the  poem  has  provoked  much  discussion. 
What  is  certain  is  that  English  hexameters 
can  be  natural  and  musical."  ' 

The  poem  offers  exceptional  opportuni- 
ties for  class  work. 

Tales  from  Shakespeare  (Lamb).    2. 

These  tales  provide  an  excellent  intro- 
duction to  the  prince  of  poets.  Shake- 
speare's plays  are  not  always  easy  to  read  or 
understand.  Much  of  the  language  is  very 
different  from  our  own  and  must  be  studied. 
In  these  tales  the  language  is  as  nearly  that 
of  Shakespeare's  day  as  it  was  possible  to 
make  it.  Diligent  care  was  taken  "  to  select 
such  words  as  might  least  interrupt  the  effect 
of  the  beautiful  English  tongue  in  which  he 
wrote ;  therefore,  words  introduced  into  our 

1  A  History  of  American  Literature,  p.  185. 


COURSE   OF    STUDY  167 

language  since  his  time  have  been  as  far  as 
possible  avoided." 

All  of  us  talk  fluently  about  Shakespeare 
and  few  of  us  read  him,  —  chiefly  because 
we  can't.  We  should  have  been  taught 
something  of  his  delight  and  worth  in  the 
grammar  school  instead  of  a  great  quantity 
of  the  dry  husks  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
readers.  Such  wilful  neglect  is  little  less 
than  a  crime. 

"These  tales  make  real  the  life  of  the 
Elizabethan  age.  The  people  talk  and 
move  and  the  dramatist  is  a  real  man.  They 
are  a  beautiful  portico  through  which  young 
people,  and  many  old  ones,  can  approach 
the  master's  mind  and  work  with  ease,  and 
with  delight."  Without  doubt  they  are  what 
the  authors  hoped  they  might  be,  "  enrichers 
of  the  fancy,  strengtheners  of  virtue,  a  with- 
drawing from  all  selfish  and  mercenary 
thoughts,  a  lesson  of  all  sweet  and  honorable 
thoughts  and  actions,  to  teach  courtesy,  be- 
nignity, generosity,  humanity;  for  of  ex- 
amples, teaching  these  virtues,  his  pages 
are  full." 


168     LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

It  is  perhaps  not  possible  nor  even  de- 
sirable to  read  all  these  tales  in  class.  The 
following  at  least  should  be  studied : 

"A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream." 

"Twelfth  Night." 

"Macbeth." 

"The  Merchant  of  Venice." 

"Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark." 

"Romeo  and  Juliet." 

Don  Quixote  (Cervantes).    3. 

This  is  a  book  children  should  be  encour- 
aged to  read.  It  is  one  of  the  few  world- 
books,  incomparable  in  humor  and  satire. 
There  is  perhaps  no  greater  work  in  prose 
fiction.  The  characters  of  the  hero  and  his 
inimitable  squire,  Sancho  Panza,  are  im- 
mortal. The  book  is  intensely  humorous 
and  surpassingly  human.  There  is  nothing 
more  exquisite  than  Sancho  governing  his 
island. 

Sella  and  Thanatopsis  (Bryant).    4. 

In  "Sella,"  Bryant  is  at  his  best  for  light- 
ness. It  is  full  of  fancy  and  the  supernatural. 
The  story  is  beautiful  and  well  conceived. 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  169 

There  is  no  finer  one  to  awaken  the  imagina- 
tion and  stir  the  proper  emotions  of  children. 
Each  child  will  probably  discover  a  meaning 
of  his  own  for  the  poem,  and  all  may  be 
right.  Emphasize  the  most  prominent  one. 
The  verse  is  pure,  simple,  and  highly 
polished. 

"  Thanatopsis "  is  the  most  noted  of  Bry- 
ant's poems.  It  begins  with  a  contempla- 
tion of  nature,  —  elemental  nature,  grand 
and  calm ;  nature  in  her  visible  forms  and 
variable  moods ;  sympathizing  with  man  in 
his  joyousness,  speaking  to  him  with  elo- 
quence intranslatable ;  his  unfailing  com- 
fort in  the  hours  of  darkness  and  death.  The 
last  thought  suggests  the  inevitableness  of 
death.  The  most  powerful  element  in  the 
poet's  nature  comes  to  the  front.  Attracted 
by  the  subject  of  death,  the  earth  becomes 
but  a  mighty  sepulcher.  The  poem  has  in 
it  something  of  the  august  and  is  full  of 
stately  grace  and  calm,  ennobling  thought. 
The  verse  is  deep  and  sonorous,  accurate 
and  finished,  and  rolls  on  like  a  mighty  river, 
somber,  but  full  of  rich-colored  shadows. 


LITERATURE  IN  TIIE  COMMON"  BCHC     l£ 

:-.--.:    I  5. 

A  good  introduction  to  the  great  author. 
It  is  excellent  as  literature,  varied  in  style, 
and  very  interesting.  It  is  full  of  fanciful 
humor  and  the  mvsterv  and  weirdness  of 
ghosts.  The  character  study  is  charming  and 
shows  the  genuine,  hearty  love  of  the  author 
for  the  poor  and  unfortunate.  It  contains 
hints  as  to  what  may  be  done  with  riches 
and  points  out  the  true  significance  of 
Christmas. 

This  is  a  noble  epic  poem,  filled  with  the 
glamor  of  the  East,  and  fascinating  in  its 
theme.  It  is  full  of  heroic  action,  deep 
pathos,  and  chivalric  characters.  It  is 
worth  anv  child's  time  and  effort  to  become 
acquainted  with  Matthew  Arnold,  a  master 
of  style  and  thought.  The  style  is  highly 
lie,  clear,  flowing  and  classic. 

rnortaing.     7. 
"All    the    World's    a    Stage  "  —  SHAKE- 
RE. 

; :  Bann  ockbum  "  —  Burns. 


cottt.st   ;r  stttdt  171 

"The  Bells  "  —  F 
"The  Bog      S     _  "  —  Tex!     - 
"The  Cha:_       I   the    I ight  Brigade w  — 
Tennyson. 

"Good   Name  in  Man  or  Woman'*  — 
Shaexspeare. 

"The  Humble  Bee  "  —  Rwn» 

Captain  !  My  Caj  lain  *'  —  Whit 

'"The  Rainy  Day  "  —  Loxgfeul 

"There    Was    a    Sound      I    B  "  — 

Byron. 

"To  a  Moose  "  —  Burns. 

"What  Constitutes  a  State  "  —  J:\    - 

"Winter  "'  —  I.;  well. 

"The  Year 'sat  the  Spring"  —  B 


GRADE    Mil  — EIGHTH    YEAR 
Tie  V:s::r   ::'  S.r  Ir-ir.:';:  1. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  poems  in  A 
literature  for  class 

;oially  fine  bits  stud         The 

narrative  parts     eal  with  that  famous  ro- 
mantic theme,  the  search  for  the  holv  grail. 


172      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

The  sunny  nature  of  Lowell  reflects  itself  in 
his  nature  poems,  which,  as  a  whole,  are  the 
finest  in  American  poetry. 

Lincoln's  Addresses.    2. 

The  Gettysburg  Speech  is  perhaps  the 
most  famous  one  ever  delivered  by  an  Amer- 
ican. In  sublimity  of  thought  and  style  it  is 
peerless.  Every  boy  and  girl  should  be  re- 
quired to  commit  it  to  memory.  The  second 
inaugural  address  is  but  little  less  famous  and 
should  be  thoroughly  studied.  In  connec- 
tion with  these  Walt  Whitman's  "  O  Captain  ! 
My  Captain ! "    should  be  learned  by  heart. 

The  Lady  of  the  Lake  (Scott).    3. 

This  is  the  best  of  the  "Wizard's"  poems. 
It  is  almost  an  epic.  The  witchery  of  the 
Scottish  Highlands,  the  beautiful  Loch 
Katrine,  the  wild  Trossachs,  the  outlawed 
Chief,  the  savage  Roderick  Dhu,  the  ro- 
mantic FitzJames,  and  the  fair  Ellen,  take 
possession  of  the  reader.  The  story  is  rife 
with  love,  battles,  and  adventure.  The 
brilliant  description  and  racy,  powerful  verse 
are  stimulating.    Scott  is  a  prince  of  roman- 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  173 

tic  imagination  and  this  story  never  fails  to 
charm.    It  is  a  great  picture  of  a  great  age. 

The  Man  Without  a  Country  (Hale).    4. 

An  impressive  story  and  a  profound  study 
of  patriotism.  To  have  written  this  only  is 
sufficient  to  have  made  the  author  famous. 
Wherever  the  old  flag  flies,  boys  and  girls 
ought  to  have  the  privilege  of  reading  it. 
To  teach  this  story  is  to  teach  patriotism. 
Not  to  be  omitted. 

Ivanhoe  (Scott).    5. 

The  best  of  Scott's  novels  for  school  work. 
Almost  as  famous,  and  for  many  boys  quite 
as  fascinating,  as  "Robinson  Crusoe."  A 
great  portrait  of  life  in  the  time  of  chivalry, 
the  effects  of  the  book  should  be  most 
ennobling. 

The  Merchant  of  Venice  (Shakespeare).    6. 

This  is  the  best  adapted  of  Shakespeare's 
plays  for  children  in  this  grade.  Its  lan- 
guage, motives,  and  incidents  are,  in  the 
main,  entireiy  within  their  comprehension. 
Children  should  not  be  allowed  to  leave  the 
grammar  school  without  having  read  at  least 


174     LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

one    play    of    the    master    of   all    dramatic 
writers. 

Webster's  Orations.    7. 

Boys  and  girls  of  the  last  year  in  the 
grammar  school  should  be  more  or  less 
familiar  with  one  or  two  of  the  best  orations 
of  the  Defender  of  the  Constitution,  at  least 
with  his  reply  to  Hayne.  This  is  oratorical 
literature  of  the  highest  type.  The  work  is 
not  too  difficult  for  good  seventh-grade 
pupils. 

Suggested  for  Memorizing.    8. 

"Address  at  the  Dedication  of  Gettys- 
burg Cemetery"  —  Lincoln. 

"The  Chambered  Nautilus"  —  Holmes. 

"Columbus"  —  Miller. 

"Concord  Hymn  "  —  Emerson. 

"From  'Snowbound'"  —  Whittier. 

"Lead,  Kindly  Light  "  —  Newman. 

"On  His  Blindness  "  —  Milton. 

"Polonius'  Advice  to  His  Son  Laertes  " 
—  Shakespeare. 

"The  Quality  of  Mercy "  — Shake- 
speare. 


COURSE    OF    STUDY  175 

^"Recessional  "  —  Kipling. 

"The  Rhodora  "  —  Emerson. 

"She  was  a  Phantom  of  Delight"  — 
Wordsworth. 

"The  Song  of  the  Brook  "  —  Tennyson. 

"What  is  so  Rare  as  a  Day  in  June  "  — 
Lowell. 


EXTENDED  LIST  FOR  SUBSTITU- 
TION, LEISURE  HOURS,  AND 
HOME   READING 

V\7TIERE  the  mass  of  material  is  so  great 
and  of  such  excellent  quality,  there 
may  well  be  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  just 
the  best  book  to  be  used.  In  addition  to  this 
reason,  local  conditions  may  make  it  desir- 
able to  substitute  other  matter  for  some  of 
that  laid  down  in  the  Course  of  Study.  Read- 
ing at  home  and  during  leisure  hours  should 
become  a  habit,  formed  under  an  intelligent 
direction  as  to  what  is  excellent. 


GRADES   I   AND   II 

Eugene  Field's  Poems.    1. 

The  author  is  a  great  children's  poet. 
The  stories  which  these  poems  tell  are 
fraught    with    interest    in    the    real    world 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  177 

around    and    in    the    shadowy    world    of 
fancy. 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson's  Poems.    2. 
Stevenson  is  noted  alike  for  his  fine  art 
and  deep  insight  into  child  nature. 

The  Adventures  of  a  Brownie.    3. 

A  most  fascinating  story  about  these  little 
people  who  are  always  prime  favorites  with 
children.  The  book  is  delightful  in  style, 
and  ethically  sound.  It  is  not  a  folk  tale  but 
is  literary  in  conception  and  composition. 

Mother  Goose  Tales.    4. 

All  of  them  old  and  very  cleverly  told. 
Perhaps  the  best  of  the  fairy  tales,  —  "Cin- 
derella," "The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the 
Wood,"  "Little  Thumb,"  "Puss  in  Boots," 
"Riquet  of  the  Tuft,"  "Blue  Beard,"  "The 
Fairy,"  and  "Little  Red  Riding  Hood." 

The  Old  World  Wonder  Stories.    5. 

These  tales  are  more  crude  and  vigorous 
than  the  "Tales  of  Mother  Goose."  They 
make  a  strong  appeal  to  the  interests  of 
children.     The  list  is  composed  of  "Whit- 

12 


178     LITERATURE  IN   THE   COMMON  SCHOOLS 

tington  and  His  Cat,"  "Jack  the  Giant 
Killer,"  "Jack  and  the  Bean  Stalk,"  and 
"Tom  Thumb." 

Nature  Myths.    6. 

The  subject  matter  is  culled  from  the  folk 
lore  of  primitive  races.  I,t  makes  an  appeal 
to  the  child's  wonder  about  nature  and 
gives  the  explanations  made  by  the  race  in 
its  childhood  stage.  The  material  is  in- 
trinsically good,  and  the  child's  desire  for 
complete  stories  is  gratified. 

JEsop's  Fables.    7. 

Probably  no  book,  except  the  Bible,  has 
been  translated  into  so  many  languages. 
These  quaint  tales  of  the  lower  animals  are 
told  "simply,  directly,  and  sagely,  with  a 
charm  and  freshness  that  brings  them  down 
to  us  through  the  centuries,  not  growing 
musty  with  age,  but  constantly  taking  on  the 
vigor  of  youth."  The  brevity  of  these 
stories  makes  them  admirably  adapted  to 
oral  presentation,  and  they  are  so  numerous 
that  they  furnish  ample  material  for  the 
third  and  fourth  grades  also.    The  moral  is 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  179 

usually  so  plain  that  it  cannot  be  missed,  and 
children  should  discover  it  for  themselves. 

Classic  Myths.    8. 

For  clearness  and  simplicity  of  language 
there  is  no  book  that  excels  this.  The  myths 
are  selected  from  the  Greek,  Norse,  Roman, 
and  Russian. 

Boy  Blue  and  His  Friends  (Blaisdell).    9. 

"The  stories  are  written  around  some  of 
the  Mother  Goose  rhymes  because  the 
children  love  to  meet  old  friends  in  books 
just  as  well  as  we  do.  Here  they  will  learn 
why  Mary's  lamb  went  to  school,  what  the 
mouse  was  looking  for  when  he  ran  up  the 
clock,  why  one  little  pig  went  to  market, 
how  one  little  pig  got  lost,  and  the  answer  to 
a  great  many  other  puzzling  questions." 

A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses  (Stevenson).    10. 

An  excellent  selection  from  the  famous 
poems. 

Select  Poems  (Three  Years  With  the  Poets).    11. 

An  admirable  book  of  poems  for  reading 
and  memorizing.  Work  is  laid  out  for  the 
first  three  years  of  school.     For  each  year 


180     LITERATURE   IN   THE  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

there    are    three    lists,  —  required    poems, 
elective  poems,  and  supplementary  poems. 

Japanese  Fairy  Tales.    12. 

A  collection  of  charming  wonder  tales, 
delightfully  told. 

Merry  Animal  Tales  (Bigham).    13. 

A  spirited  retelling  of  fables  based  on  the 
famous  French  collection  by  La  Fontaine. 
Excellent  for  oral  presentation,  and  for 
supplementary  reading  in  Grade  III. 


GRADES   III   AND   IV 

The  Wonderful  Chair  Stories  (Browne).    1. 

Ten  most  fascinating  stories.  "They  are, 
though  set  in  an  atmosphere  of  the  wonder- 
ful, full  of  happenings  which  are  always  real 
and  possible;  the  characters  are  concrete 
and  natural,  and  the  incidents  are  related 
in  a  most  pleasing  style." 

The  Eugene  Field  Book  (Bttrt-Cable).    2. 

No  one  ever  got  nearer  the  heart  of  chil- 
dren nor  understood  them  better.    The  best 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  181 

quality   of  his  verses  sang  itself  from  his 
heart. 

Seven  Little  Sisters  (Andrews).    3. 

There  is  nothing  better  of  its  kind.  It 
widens  the  child's  knowledge  and  sympathy 
by  other  child  life.  The  familiar  is  en- 
hanced by  the  strange.  Simply  and  beauti- 
fully told  in  clear,  vigorous  language. 

The  Story  of  Ulysses  (Cook).    4. 

A  good  adaptation  of  the  famous  tale. 
The  stories  are  well  selected  and  give  a  clear 
idea  of  the  customs  and  home  affairs  of  that 
interesting  people. 

Fairy  Tales  Every  Child  Should  Know  (Mabie).    5. 

Twenty-four  of  the  most  famous  fairy 
tales  attractively  told. 

Hawthorne's  Wonder  Book.    6. 

A  book  of  standard  excellence  in  Haw- 
thorne's delightful  style.  Six  of  the  finest 
old  Greek  myths  put  into  an  interesting 
setting. 

Lolami,  The  Little  Cliff  Dweller  (Baylisb).    7. 

A  story  dealing  with  the  child  life  of  this 


182     LITERATURE  IN   THE   COMMON  SCHOOLS 

primitive  people.  The  material  is  intrinsi- 
cally valuable  and  very  interesting.  It  is  a 
piece  of  genuine  literature,  strong  in  imagi- 
nation and  emotion,  and  throbbing  with 
life. 

Lolami  in  Tusayan  (Bayliss).    8. 

A  companion  to  the  above,  dealing  with 
the  youth  and  early  manhood  of  Lolami. 
It  contains,  among  other  chapters,  The 
Luck  Shrine,  The  Snake  Dance,  On  the 
War-Path,  Marriage  and  Home-Making. 

Jackanapes  (Ewing).  9. 

A  good,  healthy  story  and  a  lesson  in  true 
patriotism.  The  constant  reference  to  the 
old  gray  goose  and  what  she  thought  about 
things  is  very  pleasing  to  children.  The 
book  has  a  fine  touch  of  genuine  pathos 
and  holds  an  incontestable  place  in  child 
literature. 

Jan  of  the  Windmill  (Ewing).     10. 

An  excellent  picture  of  the  north  country 
English  life  of  the  middle  class.  A  tale  full 
of  beauty  and  pathos  concerning  a  deserted 
son,  a  child  of  genius. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  183 

The  Little  Lame  Prince  (Mulock).    11. 
A  first-class   literary   fairy   tale  in   Miss 
Mulock's  usual  happy  style. 

Through  the  Looking  GlasB  (Carroll).    12. 

A  noted  book  of  fancy  by  the  author  of 
"Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland."  It 
has  in  it  the  widely-known  verses  on  "The 
Jabberwock"  and  "The  Walrus  and  the 
Carpenter." 

A  Dog  of  Flanders  ("Ouida").    13. 

A  classic  dog  story,  pathetic  and  beautiful, 
portraying  the  love  and  intelligence  of  the 
animal.  It  is  likewise  an  inspiring  lesson 
on  the  power  of  an  ideal. 

Krag  and  Johnny  Bear  (Thompson-Seton).    14. 

Fine  as  literature,  fascinating  as  animal 
stories.  Not  to  be  omitted.  "Lobo,  Rag, 
and  Vixen"  is  the  title  of  a  book  equally 
captivating. 

The  Howells  Story  Book.    16. 

A  choice  book.  "Christmas  Every  Day" 
is  one  of  the  best  Christmas  stories  ever 
written.  Part  II  of  this  book  is  specially 
adapted  for  boys.     It  deals  with  customs, 


184     LITERATURE  IN  THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

games,  circuses,  etc.    The  style  is  a  happy, 
every-day,  colloquial  one. 

Norse  Heroes.    16. 

A  good,  simple,  clear  statement  of  the 
Norse  myths.  Excellent  for  supplementary 
and  sight  reading. 


Poems  of  American  Patriotism.    17. 

An  almost  indispensable  book.  The  best 
collection  of  the  kind  made.  Select  poems 
in  connection  with  history  topics,  special 
days,  etc.  Excellent  for  memorizing  and 
for  readings. 

Diddie,  Dumps,  and  Tot  (Ptrnelle).    18. 

A  story  of  plantation  life  in  Mississippi 
before  the  war.  It  is  rife  with  old  stories, 
legends,  traditions,  games,  hymns,  and  su- 
perstitions of  the  Southern  slaves.  It  was 
written  "to  tell  of  the  pleasant  and  happy 
relations  that  existed  between  master  and 
slave,"  and  gives  the  sunny  side  of  the 
picture.  An  exceedingly  interesting  and 
instructive  book,  and  crowded  with  humor. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  185 

Uncle  Remus  (Haekis).    19. 

Negro  myths  and  legends  of  the  old 
plantation.  Genuine  folk  tales,  well  adapted 
for  oral  presentation  in  Grades  I  to  IV, 
inclusive. 

The  Labors  of  Hercules.    20. 

The  twelve  labors  of  Hercules,  briefly  and 
well  told.  The  book  contains  much  about 
other  famous  Greek  heroes. 

The  Golden-Breasted  Kootoo  (Richards).    21. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  non- 
sense stories  ever  told,  and  is  genuine  litera- 
ture. The  edition  recommended  contains 
also  the  stories  of  "Hokey  Pokey"  and 
"The  Traveller,  The  Cook,  and  The  Little 
Old  Man,"  written  in  the  same  humorous 
vein. 


GRADES   V   AND   VI 

The  Arabian  Nights.    1. 

Entirely    different    from    the    Houghton, 
Mifflin    Company   collection.     These   talcs 


180     LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

are  not  so  well  known  but  are  almost  equally 
interesting. 

The  Rose  and  the  Ring  (Thackeray).    2. 

A  fairy  tale  in  the  fine  style  of  Thackeray. 
A  good  introduction  to  this  great  literary 
figure.  Excellent  for  library  and  home 
reading. 

Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland  (Carroll).    3. 

Lewis  Carroll's  most  famous  story.  One 
of  the  great  imaginary  tales  of  the  English 
language. 

Arthurian  Legends.    4. 

Prose  tales  based  on  Malory's  "Morte 
d'Arthur"  and  Tennyson's  "Idyls  of  the 
King."  The  aim  of  the  book  is  to  give  chil- 
dren an  interest  in  the  literature  dealing 
with  the  great  Celtic  legend  of  King  Arthur, 
and  to  arouse  their  admiration  for  the  sturdy 
national  virtues  of  which  the  English  race 
has  always  been  proud. 

The  Hoosier  School-Boy  (Eggleston).    5. 

An  excellent  book.  Exciting  from  start 
to  finish.     Full  of  games,  customs,  etc.,  of 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  187 

the  Middle  West.    A  fine  picture  of  school- 
boy life. 

The  Idyls  of  the  King  (Tennyson).    6. 

Read  in  class  "The  Coming  of  Arthur" 
and  "The  Passing  of  Arthur." 

Rab  and  His  Friends  (Brown).    7. 
A    classic    dog    story.      Full    of    human 
interest. 

The  Story  of  Siegfried  (Baldwin).    8. 

A  captivating  story  about  the  greatest  of 
Northern  heroes.  Something  eveiy  boy 
ought  to  read. 

The  Story  of  Roland  (Baldwin).    9. 

A  companion  book  to  "The  Story  of 
Siegfried  "  and  just  as  fascinating.  Roland  is 
the  great  romantic  hero  of  southern  Europe. 

The  Story  of  the  Iliad  (Church).    10. 
A  most  felicitous  retelling  of  the  great 
story. 

The  Story  of  the  Odyssey  (Church).    11. 

A  companion  book  to  "The  Story  of  the 
Iliad."  Both  ought  to  be  read  by  all  boys 
and  girls. 


188     LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 
The  Birds'  Christmas  Carol  (Wiggin).    12. 

A  superb  story  of  unselfishness  and 
brimming  over  with  humor.  The  style  is 
exquisite. 

Selections  from  Burroughs,  Warner,  andThoreau.    13. 

There  is  no  more  valuable  book  than  this. 
Each  author  is  a  master  in  his  field.  For 
Grade  VI  or  VII. 

A  Book  of  Famous  Verse  (Repplier).    14. 

One  of  the  choicest  collections  ever  made. 

The  Boy's  Life  of  Christ  (Forbush).    15. 

The  story  is  full  of  vividness  and  move- 
ment, emphasizing  the  boy  life  and  human 
greatness  of  Jesus.  It  is  intensely  real, 
manly,  and  heroic. 

Reynard  the  Fox  (Jacobs).    16. 

Among  animal  stories,  this  is  next  to 
vEsop's  fables  in  popularity.  Admirable 
for  reading  purposes  and  rich  in  material 
for  oral  presentation  in  the  lower  grades. 

The  Race  of  the  Swift  (Litset).    17. 

"Stories  of  wild  animals  that  for  interest, 
truth,  and  tragic  possibilities  have  not  been 
surpassed." 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  189 

Little  Women  (Alcott).    18. 

One  of  the  choicest  stories  ever  written  for 
girls.  The  material  is  drawn  largely  from 
the  girlhood  life  of  the  author  and  her 
sisters. 

Rolf  and  the  Viking's  Bow  (French).    19. 

"No  better  pictures  of  a  law-abiding, 
rural,  and  yet  valiant  race  have  ever  been 
made  than  in  the  tales  which  the  Icelanders 
had  the  skill  to  weave  about  their  heroes. 
.  .  .  They  tell  of  real  men  and  women  in 
real  circumstances,  and  show  them  human 
in  spite  of  the  legends  which  have  grown  up 
about  them."  In  this  book,  personal  cour- 
age, the  prominence  of  law,  and  the  condi- 
tions of  life  at  home  and  abroad  are  vividly 
portrayed.  A  fascinating  book  and  one  that 
should  not  be  omitted. 


GRADES   VII   AND   VIII 

Robinson  Crusoe  (De  Foe).    1. 

Edward   Everett   Hale   says,   "A    person 
who  is  thoroughly  and  well  acquainted  with 


190    LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

'Robinson  Crusoe'  is  thoroughly  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  best  narrative  which 
has  ever  been  written  in  the  English 
language." 


l5J 


The  Gold  Bug  (Poe).    2. 

The  finest  of  all  detective  stories  for  boys 
and  girls. 

Emerson's  Poems.    3. 

A  choice  selection.  Admirable  for  class 
work. 

Scott's  Marmion.    4. 

A  stirring  historical  poem  of  a  chivalric 
age.    It  is  well  adapted  for  class  work. 

Spyri's  Heidi.    6. 

A  bewitching  story  of  a  little  Swiss  girl's 
city  and  country  life.  Equally  good  for 
boys  and  girls. 

Two  Years  Before  the  Mast  (Dana).    6. 

One  of  the  finest  books  for  boys.  A  true 
story  of  sea-faring  life  rounding  Cape  Horn. 
Intensely  exciting. 

Hans  Brinker  (Dodge).    7. 

An  entertaining  story  of  Dutch  child  life. 
Many   of  the  descriptions   of  customs   are 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  191 

drawn  directly  from  life,  and  the  wonderful 
experiences  of  Raff  Brinker  are  said  to  be 
founded  strictly  on  fact.  It  is  a  worthy 
story  of  Holland,  —  "full  of  oddity,  cour- 
age, and  industry,  —  the  pluckiest  little 
country  on  earth." 

The  Alhambra  (Irving).    8. 

A  good  collection  of  the  wonder  tales  of 
"Old  Spain." 

Tom  Brown's  School  Days  (Hughes).    9. 

A  stirring  narrative  of  an  English  boy's 
life  at  Rugby  under  its  master  teacher, 
Thomas  Arnold. 

The  Cable  Story  Book.    10. 

A  book  full  of  imagination,  heroism, 
nobility,  love,  trust  in  God,  and  informa- 
tion about  New  Orleans  in  its  most  pictur- 
esque period. 

Shakespeare's  Julius  Caesar.    11. 
The  best  results  are  to  be  obtained  by 
using  the  book  as  a  text  for  class  work. 

Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  (Stowe).    12. 

"The  life  of  this  American  slave,  as  writ- 
ten by  Mrs.  Stowe,  probably  did  more  than 


192     LITERATURE  IN  THE   COMMON  SCHOOLS 

any  other  book,  except  the  Bible,  to  break 
down  the  system  of  slavery."  —  Hale. 

Animal  Stories  (Roberts).    13. 

"The  Lord  of  the  Air,"  the  eagle;  "The 
King  of  the  Mamozekel,"  the  moose;  "The 
Watchers  of  the  Campfire,"  the  panther; 
"The  Haunter  of  the  Pine  Gloom,"  the 
lynx ;  "The  Return  to  the  Trails,"  the  bear; 
"The  Little  People  of  the  Sycamore,"  the 
raccoon. 

Mr.  Roberts  is  a  close,  accurate  observer, 
and  a  brilliant  writer. 

Myths  of  Northern  Lands  (Guerber).    14. 
A    most    excellent    book    for    reference. 
Desirable  for  school  and  home  libraries. 

The  Apocrypha.    15. 

Some  of  the  most  famous  stories  of  the 
race.  References  to  them  in  literature  are 
almost  numberless. 

The  Jungle  Book  (Kipling).    16. 

Incomparable  tales  of  the  Indian  jungle. 

Bob,  Son  of  Battle  (Ollivant).    17. 

A  story  of  a  Scotch  collie,  —  the  greatest 
of  all  the  dog  stories. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  193 

Jock  of  the  Bushveldt  (Fitzpatrick).    18. 

A  real  story  of  a  bull-terrier  in  Africa, 

"the  story  of  a  dog  cast  in  heroic  mould, 

who  deserves  to  live  with  Mr.   Ollivant's 

'OwdBob.'" 

The  Call  of  the  Wild  (London).    19. 

The  masterful  story  of  the  magic  North 
and  a  great  St.  Bernard  dog  that  goes  back 
to  the  life  of  his  far-away  ancestors. 

Treasure  Island  (Stevenson).    20. 
A  brilliant  story  of  pirates,  sea  life,  and 
adventure. 

The  Last  of  The  Mohicans  (Cooper).    21. 

The  best  introduction  to  Cooper's  famous 
stories.  A  thrilling  narrative  of  pioneer  and 
Indian  life. 

Franklin's  Autobiography.    22. 
A  book  that  every  American  boy  and  girl 
ought  to  read. 

Stories  of  Wagner  Operas  (Wheelock).    23. 

A  retelling  of  these  famous  tales  in  a 
bright,  racy  style.  The  invention  is  well 
managed.     The  stories  are:    "The  Master 

13 


194     LITERATURE   IN   THE  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

Singers,"  "The  Flying  Dutchman,"  "Lo- 
hengrin," "The  Rhinegold,"  "The  Wal- 
kyries,"  "Siegfried,"  and  "The  Dusk  of  the 
Gods." 

A  Book  of  Heroic  Ballads  (Tileston).    24. 

A  choice  collection  of  eighteen  of  the 
finest  literary  ballads.  Suitable  for  supple- 
mentary work. 

Heroes  of  Iceland  (French).    25. 

An  adaptation  of  Dasent's  translation  of 
the  great  Icelandic  saga,  "The  Story  of 
Burnt  Njal."  A  stirring,  tragic  tale  and 
contains  "some  of  the  best  fighting  in  liter- 
ature." "The  lesson  to  be  drawn  from  its 
pages,  in  the  gentler  as  well  as  in  the  sterner 
virtues,  and  in  the  belief  in  the  value  of  man- 
liness and  the  ultimate  triumph  of  right,  are 
such  as  no  generation  and  no  nation  can 
afford  to  pass  by." 

With  Spurs  of  Gold  (Greene  and  Kirk).    26. 

A  book  about  the  heroes  of  chivalry  and 
their  deeds.  Some  of  the  most  famous  are 
Roland,  Oliver,  The  Cid,  Richard  Cceur- 
de-Lion,  Chevalier  Bayard,  and  Sir  Philip 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  195 

Sidney.  The  characters  are  accurately 
drawn  by  depicting  "the  fine  strong  virtues 
and  great  deeds  that  won  for  these  knights 
the  unbounded  admiration  of  their  own 
age."  A  literary  presentation  of  some  of  the 
most  important  historical  and  legendary 
material. 


FOR   ALL   THE   GRADES 

Heart  of  Oak  Books.    1. 

The  various  books  of  the  series  correspond 
in  difficulty  to  the  ordinary  school  reader  of 
the  same  grade.  The  selections  are  ad- 
mirable and  the  series  should  be  in  every 
school  library.  "The  youth  who  shall  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  contents  of  these 
volumes  will  share  in  the  common  stock  of 
the  intellectual  life  of  the  race  to  which  he 
belongs ;  and  he  will  have  opened  to  him  all 
the  vast  and  noble  resources  of  that  life." 

Lights  to  Literature.    2. 

The  material  is  well  selected  and  graded. 
A  good,  usable  series  for  class-room  work. 


196    LITERATURE   IN  THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

Open  Sesame.    3. 

A  superior  collection  of  prose  and  verse 
in  three  volumes.  Graded  as  to  difficulty 
and  prepared  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging 
children  to  "learn  by  heart,"  "to  learn 
things  worth  learning,"  and  "to  learn  these 
things  because  they  like  them." 

Poems  by  Grades.    4. 

An  abundance  of  material  from  standard 
authors.  Carefully  graded  for  each  of  the 
eight  years.  Selections  also  for  the  seasons, 
special  occasions,  etc. 

Choice  Literature.    5. 

An  excellent  series.  The  material  is  well 
graded  and  consists  of  a  great  variety  of 
selections  from  our  best  literature.  The 
extracts  are  choice  ones. 

The  Wide  Awake  Series.    6. 

Most  of  the  material  of  the  second  and 
third  readers  is  of  high  literary  excellence. 
The  lessons  are  carefully  graded  and  the 
drill  material  well  arranged.  Superior  books 
for  supplementary  or  regular  class  work. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  197 

The  Land  of  Song.    7. 

"A  collection  of  some  of  the  best  short 
poems  in  English,  varied  in  theme  and  in- 
terest and  carefully  graded."  Excellent  for 
supplementary  reading  and  memorizing. 

Child  Life.    8. 

The  material  is  carefully  selected  with 
reference  to  the  child's  interest  and  perma- 
nent value.  The  grading  is  accurate  and  the 
notes  and  vocabularies  are  good. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Note  —  The  grade  and  book  numbers  correspond 
to  the  grade  and  topic  numbers  in  the  Course  of 
Study,  page  133. 

GRADE  I 

1.   "Heart  of  Oak  Books"  I  (Norton). 
D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  25  cents. 

"The  Children's  Hour"  (Tileston). 
Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 
Well    selected   and    illustrated.      No   fables   nor 
proverbs. 


198    LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

2.  "Six  Nursery  Classics"  (O'Shea). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  20  cents;  paper,  10  cents. 

Contains  the  original  version  of  "The  Three  Bears." 

3.  "The  Hiawatha  Primer"  (Holbrook). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  40  cents. 

Admirably  adapted  for  regular  reading  classes. 
Excellent  for  supplementary  work.  Beautifully 
illustrated. 

4.  "Round  the  Year  in  Myth  and  Song"  (Holbrook). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth,  60  cents. 

A  choice  collection  of  prose  and  verse.  The  numer- 
ous pictures,  selected  with  taste  and  aptitude,  are 
skillfully  reproduced. 

5.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     First  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 

This  belongs  to  a  series  of  eight  volumes.  Most 
excellent. 

GRADE  II 

1.  "Fables  and  Folk  Stories"  (Scudder). 

Houghton,    Mifflin    Company,    cloth,    40   cents;     paper, 
30  cents. 

So  rich  in  material  that  a  part  only  can  be  utilized. 

2.  "The  Hiawatha  Primer"  (Holbrook). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  40  cents. 

3.  "Round  the  Year  in  Myth  and  Song"  (Holbrook). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth,  60  cents. 

4.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     Second  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  199 

GRADE  III 

1.  "Grimm's  German  Household  Tales." 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  40  cents;  paper,  SO 
cents. 

2.  "Hans  Andersen's  Stories." 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  40  cents;  paper,  30 
cents. 

3.  "Robinson  Crusoe"  (McMurry-Husted). 

Public-School  Publishing  Company,  cloth,  35  cents. 

A  special  edition  for  teachers  contains  valuable 
suggestions  as   to  how  to  teach  the  story. 

"Robinson  Crusoe  Reader"  (Cowles). 
A.  Flanagan  &  Co.,  cloth,  30  cents. 

Excellent  suggestions  in  Appendix  for  teaching  the 

story. 

4.  "Round  the  Year  in  Myth  and  Song"  (Holbrook). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth,  60  cents. 

5.  "Old  Stories  of  the  East"  (Baldwin). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth,  45  cents. 

6.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     Third  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 

GRADE  IV 

1.  "The  Song  of  Hiawatha"  (Longfellow). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  30  cents. 

2.  "Kingsley's  Greek  Heroes"  (Tetlow). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  30  cents. 

3.  "Viking  Tales"  (Hall). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  35  cents. 

Well  illustrated. 


200     LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

4.  "Stones  from  the  Arabian  Nights." 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  40  cent9. 

5.  "The  Pig   Brother   and   Other  Fables   and   Stories" 

(Richards). 
Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  40  cents. 

Artistically  printed.     A  few  illustrations. 

6.  "Bible  Stories  for  Young  People"  (Dawes). 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  cloth,  60  cents. 

Provided    with   reproductions   of   great   religious 
pictures. 

7.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     Fourth  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 

GRADE   V 

1.  "Tales  of  Troy"  (De  Garmo). 

Public-School  Publishing  Company,  cloth,  illustrated,  35 
cents. 

2.  "The  King  of  the  Golden  River"  (Ruskin). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  20  cents;  paper,  10  cents. 

3.  "Norse  Stories"  (Mabie). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  40  cents. 

4.  "King  Arthur  and  His  Court"  (Greene). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

Contains  a  dozen  well-chosen  pictures. 

5.  "Gulliver's  Travels"  (Swift). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  30  cents. 

The  voyages  to  Lilliput  and  Brobdingnag  only. 
Illustrated. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  201 

6.  "Old  Testament  Stories  in  Scripture  Language." 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

The  text  is  that  of  the  Authorized  Version. 

7.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     Fifth  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 


GRADE  VI 

1.  "The  Adventures  of  Ulysses"  (Lamb). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  25  cents. 

Illustrated  by  pen  drawings.    With  map  and  pro- 
nouncing vocabulary. 

2.  "Snowbound"  (Whittier). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

S.   "The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish"  (Longfellow). 
Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

4.  "Some  Merry  Adventures  of  Robin  Hood"  (Pyle). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  50  cents. 

5.  "Six  Selections  from  Irving's  Sketch  Book "  (Spragtje). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  25  cents. 

6.  "Tales  of  the  White  Hills"  (Hawthorne). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

7.  "Hellenic  Tales"  (Carpenter). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  60  cents. 

Attractively  illustrated. 

8.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     Sixth  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 


202     LITERATURE   IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

GRADE  VII 

1.  "Evangeline"  (Longfellow). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

2.  "Tales  From  Shakespeare"  (Lamb). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  40  cents. 

3.  "The  Child's  Don  Quixote"  (Wimon). 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

Well  adapted  for  school  reading  and  gives  all  of 
the  larger  story  worth  while. 

4.  "Sella,  Thanatopsis  and  Other  Stories"  (Bryant). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

5.  "A  Christinas  Carol"  (Dickens). 

Charles  E.  Merrill  Company,  paper,  12  cents. 

6.  "Sohrab  and  Rustum"  (Arnold). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

7.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     Seventh  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 


GRADE  VIII 

1.  "The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal"  (Lowell). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

2.  "The  Gettysburg  Speech"  (Lincoln). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

Includes  Whitman's  "O  Captain  !   My  Captain  .'" 

3.  "The  Lady  of  the  Lake"  (Scott). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  35  cents. 

4.  "The  Man  Without  a  Country"  (Hale). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  25  cents. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  203 

5.  "Ivanhoe"  (Scott). 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  25  cents. 

6.  "Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Venice"  (Rolfe). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth,  55  cents. 

7.  "Daniel  Webster  for  Young  Americans"   (Richard- 

son). 
Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

Well  illustrated. 

8.  "The  Approved  Selections  for  Reading  and  Memoriz- 

ing" (Hix).     Eighth  Year. 
Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  cloth,  25  cents. 


EXTENDED   LIST 
GRADES  I  AND  IT 

1.  "Eugene  Field  Reader"  (Harris). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  40  cents. 

May  be  used  as  a  first  reader  for  regular  work. 
Pedagogically  correct.    Beautifully  illustrated. 

2.  "Robert  Louis  Stevenson  Reader"  (Bryce). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  40  cents. 

The  plan  is  the  same  as  in  the  "Eugene  Field 
Reader."    Style  and  illustrations  equally  beautiful. 

3.  "The  Adventures  of  a  Brownie"  (Mulock). 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  cloth,  60  cents. 

4     "The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose"  (Perrault). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  20  cents ;  paper,  10  cents. 

5.   "Old  World  Wonder  Stories"  (O'Shea). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  20  cents;  paper,  10  cents. 


204     LITERATURE   IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

6.  "The  Book  of  Nature  Myths"  (Holbrook). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  -15  cents. 

Vocabulary  based  upon  "The  Hiawatha  Primer." 
The  book  may  be  used  as  a  second  reader. 

7.  "iEsop's  Fables"  (McSpadden). 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  cloth,  60  cents. 

8.  "Classic  Myths"  (Jtjdd). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  35  cents. 

This  may  be  used  as  a  supplementary  reader  in 
Grades  II  and  III. 

9.  "Boy  Blue  and  His  Friends"  (Blaisdell). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  school  edition,  cloth,  40  cents. 

An  easy  second-year  book.     Excellent  to  follow 
"Heart  of  Oak  Books"  I. 

10.  "A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses"  (Stevenson). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

Finely  illustrated. 

11.  "Three  Years  With  the  Poets"  (Hazard). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

12.  "Japanese  Fairy  Tales"  (Williston). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

A  book  exquisite  in  design  and  execution.     Illus- 
trated in  true  Japanese  style. 

13.  "Merry  Animal  Tales"  (Bigham). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

Fully   illustrated.      For  advanced  second-year  or 
early  third-year  reading. 


LIST  FOR    SUBSTITUTION  205 

GRADES  III  AND  IV 

1.  "The    Wonderful    Chair   and    the    Tales    it    Told" 

(Browne). 
D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  30  cents;  paper,  20  cents. 

2.  "The  Eugene  Field  Book"  (Burt-Cable). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  60  cents. 

3.  "Seven  Little  Sisters"  (Andrews). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

4.  "The  Story  of  Ulysses"  (Cook). 

Public-School  Publishing  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

5.  "Fairy  Tales  Every  Child  Should  Know"  (Mabie). 

Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  cloth,  90  cents. 

The  book  has  a  valuable  introduction.    Excellent 
for  supplementary  reading. 

6.  "A  Wonder-Book"  (Hawthorne). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  40  cents. 

Material  much  the  same  as  in  "Kingsley's  Greek 
Heroes." 

7.  "Lolami,  The  Little  Cliff  Dweller"  (Bayliss). 

Public-School  Publishing  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

8.  "Lolami  in  Tusayan"  (Bayliss). 

Public-School  Publishing  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

9.  "Jackanapes"  (Ewing). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

10.  "Jan  of  the  Windmill"  (Ewing). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

11.  "The  Little  Lame  Prince"  (Mulock). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  30  cents;  paper,  20  cents. 


206    LITERATURE   IN    THE  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

12.  "Through  the  Looking  Glass"  (Carroll). 

T.  Y.  dwell  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

13.  "A  Dog  of  Flanders"  (Ouida). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

Contains  "The  Niirnberg  Stove,"  a  fine  story  suit- 
able for  Grades  IV  and  V. 

14.  "Krag  and  Johnny  Bear"  (Thompson-Seton). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  50  cents. 

"Lobo,  Rag,  and  Vixen,"  in  the  same  series. 

15.  "The  Howells  Story  Book." 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  50  cents. 

The  author's  biography  is  exceptionally  good  and 
helpful. 

16.  "Heroes  of  Asgard"  (Keary). 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

17.  "Poems  of  American  Patriotism"  (Matthews). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  50  cents. 

18.  "Diddie,  Dumps,  and  Tot"  (Pyrnelle). 

Harper  &  Bros.,  cloth,  40  cents. 

19.  "Nights  with  Uncle  Remus"  (Harris). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  $1.50;  paper,  50  cents. 

20.  "Heracles,  the  Hero  of  Thebes"  (Burt). 

Charles  Scribner's  Son's,  cloth,  50  cents. 

21.  "The  Golden-Breasted  Kootoo  and  Other  Stories" 

(Richards). 
Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

GRADES  V  AND  VI 

1.    "Arabian  Nights"  (Hale). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  45  cents. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  207 

2.  "The  Rose  and  the  Ring"  (Thackeray). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  25  cents;  paper,  15  cents. 

3.  "Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland"  (Carroll). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  30  cents. 

A  good,  usable  school  edition. 

4.  "King  Arthur  and  His  Knights  "  (Radford). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

5.  "The  Hoosier  School  Boy"  (Eggleston). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  50  cents. 

6.  "Tennyson's  Idyls  of  the  King." 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  25  cents. 

7.  <"Rab  and  His  Friends"  (Brown). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  20  cents;  paper,  10  cents. 

8.  "The  Story  of  Siegfried"  (Baldwin). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  $1.50. 

9.  "The  Story  of  Roland"  (Baldwin). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  $1.50. 

10.  "The  Story  of  the  Iliad"  (Church). 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

11.  "The  Story  of  the  Odyssey"  (Church). 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

12.  "The  Birds'  Christmas  Carol"  (Wiggin). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

13.  "Birds  and  Bees"  (Burroughs). 

"A-Hunting  of  the  Deer  and  Other  Essays"  (Warner). 
"The  Succession  of  Forest  Trees  and  Wild  Apples" 
(Thoreau). 
Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

14.  "A  Book  of  Famous  Verse"  (Repplier). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  75  cents. 


208     LITERATURE   IN   THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

15.  "The  Boy's  Life  of  Christ"  (Forbush). 

Funk&  Wagnalls  Company,  cloth,  $1.25. 

16.  "Reynard  the  Fox"  (Jacobs). 

A.  L.  Burt  &  Co.,  cloth,  $1.00. 

17.  "The  Race  of  the  Swift"  (Litsey). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  $1.25. 

A  few  fine  illustrations. 

18.  "Little  Women"  (Alcott). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth  $1.50. 

"Little  Men"  and  "Jo's   Boys"  complete  the  fa- 
mous series. 

19.  "The  Story  of  Rolf  and  the  Viking's  Bow"  (French). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  $1.50. 

Illustrated. 


GRADES  VII  AND  VIII 

1.  "Robinson  Crusoe"  (De  Foe). 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth,  60  cents. 

A  reprint  of  the  first  edition. 

2.  "The  Gold  Bug"  (Poe). 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

Contains  also   "The  Purloined  Letter."     Excel- 
lent for  these  grades. 

3.  "Poems  From  the  Writings  of  Emerson." 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  paper,  15  cents. 

4.  "Marmion"  (Scott). 

The  Maemillan  Company,  cloth,  25  cents. 

5.  "Heidi"  (Sptri). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  40  cents. 


LIST   FOR   SUBSTITUTION  209 

6.  "Two  Years  Before  the  Mast"  (Dana). 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  cloth,  60  cents. 

7.  "Hans  Brinker  or  the  Silver  Skates"  (Dodge). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  50  cents. 

8.  "The  Alhambra"  (Irving). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  40  cents. 

9.  "Tom  Brown's  School  Days"  (Hughes). 

Ginn  &  Company,  cloth,  50  cents. 

10.  "The  Cable  Story  Book." 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  50  cents. 

11.  "Shakespeare's  Julius  Ceesar"  (Rolfe). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth,  55  cents. 

12.  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  (Stowe). 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  cloth,  60  cents. 

13.  "Animal  Stories"  (Roberts). 

L.  C.  Page  &  Ce^  cloth,  each,  50  cents. 

14.  "Myths^pf  Northern  Lands"  (Guerber). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth,  $1.50. 

15.  "The  Apocrypha." 

Oxford  University  Press,  cloth,  $1.00. 

The  Revised  Version. 

16.  "The  Jungle  Book"  (Kipling). 

The  Century  Company,  cloth,  $1.50. 

17.  "Bob,  Son  of  Battle"  (Ollivant). 

Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  cloth,  $1.50. 

18.  "Jock  of  the  Bushveldt"  (Fitzpatrick). 

Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  cloth,  $1.60. 

19.  "The  Call  of  the  Wild"  (London). 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  $1.50. 
14 


210     LITERATURE  IN   THE  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

20.  "Treasure  Island"  (Stevenson). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth,  40  cents. 

21.  "The  Last  of  the  Mohicans"  (Cooper). 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  25  cents. 

22.  "Franklin's  Autobiography." 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  40  cents. 

23.  "Stories    of    Wagner    Operas    Told    for    Children." 

(Wheelock). 
The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  cloth,  $1.25. 

24.  "A  Book  of  Heroic  Ballads"  (Tileston). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  50  cents. 

Illustrated. 

25.  "Heroes  of  Iceland"  (French). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  $1.50. 

Illustrated  and  furnished  with  maps  and  notes. 
The  preface  and  introduction  are  unusually  valuable. 

26.  "With  Spurs  of  Gold"  (Greene  and  Kirk). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth,  $1.50. 

Illustrated. 


FOR  ALL  THE   GRADES 

"Heart  of  Oak  Books"  (Norton). 
D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  cloth. - 

Book  I  (25  cents).  —  Rhymes,  Jingles,  and  Fables. 
Book  II  (35  cents).  —  Fables  and  Nursery  Tales. 
Book  III  (40  cents). —  Fairy  Tales,  Stories,  and 

Poems. 
Book  IV    (45   cents).  —  Fairy   Tales   and    Classic 

Tales  of  Adventure. 
Book  V  (50  cents). —  Masterpieces  of  Literature. 


LIST  FOR    SUBSTITUTION  211 

Book  VI  (55  cents).  —  Masterpieces  of  Literature. 
Book  VII  (60  cents).  —  Masterpieces  of  Literature. 

2.  "Lights  to  Literature"  (French- Adams). 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  cloth. 

Book  I  (25  cents).  —  A  First  Reader.  —  Not  Litera- 
ture. 

Book  II  (36  cents).  —  A  Second  Reader. — The 
Prose  Matter  is  Commonplace. 

Book  III  (40  cents).  —  Fables,  Myths,  Hero  Tales, 
Nature  Stories  —  Good. 

Book  IV  (40  cents).  —  Some  of  the  finest  literary 
material,  such  as  "The  Niirnberg  Stove." 

Book  V  (40  cents).  — Prominence  given  to  tales  of 
adventure  and  chivalry. 

Book  VI  (45  cents).  —  "Adventure,  History,  Sci- 
ence, and  General  Literature." 

Book  VII  (50  cents).  —  Complete  masterpieces 
from  British  and  American  authors. 

Book  VIII  (60  cents).  —  Complete  selections  from 
the  work  of  thirteen  of  the  greatest  British  and 
American  writers. 

3.  "Open  Sesame." 

Ginn  &  Company,  boards,  per  volume,  50  cents. 

4.  "Poems  by  Grades"  (Harris-Gilbert). 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  cloth,  per  volume,  60  cents. 

Volume  I  for  first  four  years  —  Volume  II   for 
second  four  years. 

5.  "Choice  Literature"  (Williams). 

American  Book  Company,  cloth. 

Book  I,  Primary  (22  cents).  —  Fables,  Fairy  Tales, 
Mother  Goose,  and  Proverbs. 


212      LITERATURE  IN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

Book  II,  Primary  (25  cents).  —  Selected  from  An- 
dersen, Grimm,  Mulock.etc. ;  Many  choice  poems. 

Book  I,  Intermediate  (28  cents).  —  "Aladdin"; 
Selections  from  Hawthorne,  Whittier,  Irving, 
Tennyson,  etc.;  Memory  gems. 
4-  Book  II,  Intermediate  (35  cents).  —  Extracts  from 
Cooper;  "The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow";  Se- 
lections from  the  poets. 

Book  I,  Grammar  (50  cents).  —  Extracts  from 
Scott,  Dickens,  and  Irving;  Choice  selections  in 
prose  and  poetry. 

Book  II,  Grammar  (50  cents).  —  Extracts  from 
Hugo,  Longfellow,  and  Shakespeare;  "Julius 
Caesar"  entire;   Orations,  prose,  and  poetry. 

6.  "The  Wide  Awake  Series"  (Muhrat). 

Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  cloth. 

Grade  I,  The  Wide  Awake  Primer  (30  cents).  — 
Drill  Material. 

Grade  I,  The  Wide  Awake  First  Reader  (30  cents). 
—  Drill  Material. 

Grade  II,  The  Wide  Awake  Second  Reader  (35 
cents).  —  Choicest  Literature. 
•  Grade  III,  The  Wide  Awake  Third  Reader   (40 

cents).  —  Choice  Literature  and  Stories  of  For- 
eign Child  Life. 

Beautifully  illustrated. 

7.  "The  Land  of  Song"  (Shote). 

Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.,  cloth. 

Book  I  (36  cents).  —  Primary  Grades. 

Book  II  (48  cents).  —  Lower  Grammar  Grades. 

Book  III  (54  cents).  —  Upper  Grammar  Grades. 


LIST    FOR    SUBSTITUTION  213 

8.    "Child  Life"  (Blaisdell  and  Blaisdell). 
The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth. 

A  First  Reader  (25  cents).  —  Drill  Material. 

A  Second  Reader  (35  cents).  —  Child  Life  in  Tale 

and  Fable. 
A  Third  Reader  (36  cents).  —  Child  Life  in  Many 

Lands. 
A    Fourth    Reader    (40    cents).  —  Child    Life    in 

Literature. 

FOR  TEACHERS 

The  following  list  of  books  may  be  found  helpful: 

"Principles  of  Literary  Criticism"  (Winchester). 
The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  $1.50. 

"Talks  on  the  Study  of  Literature"  (Bates). 
Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  $1.50. 

"How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Children"  (Bryant). 
Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth  $1.00. 

"The  Teaching  of  English"  (Chubb). 

The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth  $1.00. 

"How  to  Teach  Reading"  (Hall). 

D.  C  Heath  &  Co.,  paper,  25  cents. 

"Talks  on  Teaching  Literature"  (Bates). 
Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  $1.30. 

"Literature  in  the  Elementary  School"  (MacClintock). 
The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  cloth,  $1.00. 

"Literature  and  Life  in  School"  (Colby). 
Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  cloth,  $1.25. 

"Special    Method    in    Reading    English    Classics"    (Mc- 
Murry). 
The  Macmillan  Company,  cloth,  75  cents. 


214     LITERATURE   IN   THE   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

"Stories  to  Tell  to  Children"  (Bryant). 

Houghton,  Miillin  Company,  cloth,  $1.00. 

"Tales  Told  in  Palestine"  (Hanauer). 
Jennings  &  Graham,  cloth,  $1.25. 

"English  Versification"  (Parsons). 
Sibley  &  Co.,  cloth,  80  cents. 


LIST  OF  PUBLISHERS 

Upon  request  any  of  these  firms  will  furnish  teach- 
ers with  list  price  of  publications.  The  ones  marked 
thus  *  issue  the  very  cheap  editions. 

*Ainsworth  &  Co.,  Chicago. 

American  Book  Company,  New  York  City. 

*Avon  Book  Company,  New  York  City. 

A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company,  Indianapolis. 

A.  L.  Burt  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

*Cassell  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

Century  Company,  New  York  City 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

Doubleday,  Page   &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

Educational  Publishing  Company,  Boston. 

*A.  Flanagan  &  Co.,  Chicago. 

Funk  &  Wagnalls  Company,  New  York  City. 

Ginn  &  Company,  Boston. 

Harper  &  Bros.,  New  York  City. 

D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston. 

Hinds,  Noble,  &  Eldridge,  New  York  City. 

Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  Company,  Boston. 


LIST   FOR    SUBSTITUTION  215 

Jennings  &  Graham,  Cincinnati. 
Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia. 
Little,  Brown,  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 
Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Company,  Boston. 
A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago. 
The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York  City. 
*Charles  E.  Merrill  Company,  New  York  City. 
*The  Orville  Brewer  Publishing  Company,  Chicago. 
Oxford  University  Press,  New  York  City. 
Public-School  Publishing  Company,  Bloomington,  111. 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York  City. 
Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  Chicago. 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  New  York  City. 
Scott,  Foresman  &  Co.,  Chicago. 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York  City. 
Sibley  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.,  New  York  City. 
G.    E.    Stechert  &    Co.,    New    York    City,    Foreign 
Publications. 

E.  Steiger  &  Co.,  New  York  City,  Foreign  Publications. 
The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  Chicago. 

Most   of    these    companies   make   a   discount    to 
teachers  ordering   directly  from   them. 


INDEX  OF  TITLES  AND  AUTHORS 


Abou  Ben  Adhem,  164 

Adams,  J.  E.,  211 

Address  at  the  Dedication  of 
Gettysburg,  174 

Adventures  of  a  Brownie,  The, 
177,  203 

Adventures  of  Ulysses,  The, 
160,  201 

^Eolus,  145 

^Esop's  Fables,  178,  188,  204 

A-Hunting  of  the  Deer,  207 

AladdSn,  159 

Alcott,  Louisa  M.,  189,  208 

Aldrich,  T.  B.,  150 

Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonder- 
land, 186,  207 

Alhambra,  The,  191,  209 

All  the  World's  a  Stage,  170 

Alton  Locke,  109 

Andersen,  Hans,  147 

Andrews,  Jane,  181,  205 

Animal  Stories,  192,  209 

Apocrypha,  The,  192,  209 

Apollo,  142 

Appearance  of  the  Shepherds, 
The,  145 

Approved  Selections  for  Read- 
ing and  Memorizing,  The, 
198,  199,  200,  201,  202,  203 

Arabian  Nights,  The,  97,  153, 
185,  206 

Argonauts,  151 

Aristotle,  52 

Arnold,  Matthew,  11,  44,  54, 
170,  202 


Arrow    and    the     Song,  The, 

159 
Arthurian    Legends,    86,   157, 

186 
Aurora,  142 

Baby,  The,  142 
Baldwin,  James,  187,  199,  207 
Balzac,  Honore  de,  104 
Bannockburn,  170 
Barbara  Frietchie,  159 
Barefoot  Boy,  The,  155 
Barmecide's  Feast,  The,  154 
Bates,  Arlo,  15,  134,  136,  213 
Bayliss,  Clara  Kern,  181,  182, 

205 
Beauty  and  the  Beast,  144 
Bed  in  Summer,  145 
Beetle,  The,  147 
Beginnings  of  Poetry,  The,  134 
Bellamy,  Edward,  191 
Bells,  The,  171 
Bennett,  H.  H.,  164 
Bible,  The,  2,  44,  76,  87,  142, 

145,  149,  154,  156,  192 
Bible    as    English    Literature, 

The,  77 
Bible  Stories  for  Young  People, 

154,  200 
Bigham,  Madge  A.,  180,  204 
Birds  and  Bees,  207 
Birds'    Christmas  Carol,  The, 

188,  207 
Blaisdell,  Etta  Austin,  179,  204, 

213 


218       INDEX    OF    TITLES    AND    AUTHORS 


Blaisdell,  Mary  Frances,   179, 

204,  212 
Blake,  William,  145,  150 
Blue  Beard,  177 
Bob,  Son  of  Battle,  192, 209 
Book  of  Famous  Verse,  A,  188, 

207 
Boy  Blue  and  His  Friends,  179, 

Boy's  Life  of  Christ,  The,  188, 

208 
Boy's  Song,  A,  145 
Book  of  Heroic  Ballads,  A,  194, 

210 
Book  of  Nature  Myths,  The, 

204 
Bremen  Town  Musicians.The, 

147 
Bronson,  Walter  Cochran,  55, 

75,  163,  165 
Brooke,  Stopford,  14 
Brown,  John,  187,  207 
Brown  Thrush,  The,  150 
Browne,  Frances,  180,  205 
Browning,  Robert,  44,  48,  171 
Bryant,  Sara  Cone,  213,  214 
Bryant,   William  Cullen,   159, 

168,  202 
Bryce,  Catherine  T.,  203 
Bugle  Song,  The,  171 
Burns,  Robert,  26,  170,  171 
Burroughs,  John,  188,  207 
Burt,  Mary  E.,  180,  206 
Byron,  Lord,  164,  171 

Cable,  Mary  B.,  180 

Cable  Story  Book,  The,  191, 

209 
Call   of  the   Wild,   The,    193, 

209 
Carpenter,    Edmund   J.,    164, 

201 


Carroll,  Lewis,  183,  186,  206, 

207 
Cary,  Phoebe,  145 
Ceres,  145 

Cervantes'   Don  Quixote,  168 
Chambered  Nautilus,  The,  174 
Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade, 

The,  171 
Charlemagne  Romances,  86 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  99 
Child  Life,  197,  213 
Children's  Hour,  The,  155,197 
Child's  Don  Quixote,  The,  202 
Child's  Garden  of  Verses,  A, 

179,  204 
Child's  World,  The,  150 
Choice  Literature,  196,  211 
Choir  Invisible,  The,  100 
Chretien,  86 

Christmas  Carol,  A,  170,  202 
Christmas  Every  Day,  183 
Chubb,  Percival,  213 
Church,  Alfred  J.,  187,  207 
Cinderella,  144,  177 
Classic  Myths,  179,  204 
Cleon  and  I,  104 
Clytie,  142 

Cock  Robin,  138,  142 
Colby,  J.  Rose,  15,  213 
Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor,  53, 

146,  155 
Collins,  William,  159 
Columbus,  174 
Coming  of  Arthur,  The,  187 
Concord  Hymn,  174 
Cook,  Agnes  Spofford,  181,  205 
Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  193, 

210 
Courtship   of   Miles   Standish, 

The,  161,  201 
Cowles,  Julia  Darrow,  149,  199 
Crossing  the  Bar,  22 


INDEX    OF    TITLES   AND    AUTHORS      219 


Daffodils,  The,  155 
Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee,  139 
Dana,  Richard  H.,  Jr.,  45,  190, 

209 
Daniel    in    the    Lion's     Den, 

142 
Daniel     Webster    for    Young 

Americans,  174,  203 
Dante  Alighieri,  44 
Daphne,  142 
Darwin,  Charles  R.,  38 
Dasent,  George  W.,  194 
David,  150 
Dawes,  S.  E.,  200 
Day  is  Done,  The,  159 
De  Foe,  Daniel,  147,  189,  208 
De  Garmo,  Charles,  156,  200 
Deluge,  The,  149 
De  Quincey,  Thomas,  16,  18 
Destruction     of     Sennacherib, 

The,  164 
Dewdrop,  The,  142 
Diana,  142 

Dickens,  Charles,  102,  170,  202 
Diddie,  Dumps,  and  Tot,  184, 

206 
Ding,  Dong,  Bell,  137 
Dodge,  Mary  Mapes,  190,  209 
Dog  of  Flanders,  A,  183,  206 
Dombey  and  Son,  102 
Don  Quixote,  86,  168 
Dusk  of  the  Gods,  The,  194 
Dutch  Lullaby,  A.,  145 

Eggleston,  Edward,  186,  207 
Eliot,  George,  106 
Elsie  Venner,  109 
Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  11,  12, 

14,  155,  167,  171,  174,  175, 

190,  208 
English  versification,  61,  214 
Euclid,  14 


Eugene  Field  Book,  The,  180, 

205 
Eugene  Field  Reader,  176,  203 
Evangeline,  165,  202 
Ewing,  Juliana  Horatia,   182, 

205 

Fables   and   Folk   Stories, 

198 
Fairy,  The,  177 
Fairy  Song,  The,  155 
Fairy  Tales  Every  Child  Should 

Know,  181,  205 
Fairy  Queen,  The,  86 
Farewell,  A,  150 
Farmyard  Song,  A,  150 
Farthest  North,  45 
Field,  Eugene.  145,  146,  176 
Fitzpatrick,     Sir    Percy,    193, 

209 
Flying  Dutchman,  The,  194 
For  My  Country,  146 
Forbush,  William  Byron,  188, 

208 
Fountain,  The,  155 
Fox    and    the    Grapes,    The, 

139 
Franklin's  Autobiography,  193, 

210 
French,  Allen,  194,  210 
French,  Charles  W.,  189,  208, 

211 

Gardner,  J.  H.,  77 
Garland,  Hamlin,  100 
Gettysburg  Speech,  The,  172, 

202 
Gilbert,  Charles  B.,  211 
Gladstone,  William  E.,  97 
Goethe,  Johann  Wolfgang  von, 

44 
Gold  Bug,  The,  190,  208 


220       INDEX    OF    TITLES   AND    AUTHORS 


Golden  Breasted  Kootoo  and 
Other  Stories,  The,  185,  206 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  41 

Good  Name  in  Man  or  Woman, 
171 

Good-Night  and  Good-Morn- 
ing, 143 

Goose  Girl,  The,  147 

Goose  that  Laid  Golden  Eggs, 
The,  144 

Gould,  155 

Great  Carbuncle,  The,  164 

Great  Stone  Face,  The,  164 

Greene,  Frances  Nimmo,  194, 
200,  210 

Grimm's  German  Household 
Tales,  146,  199 

Grimm,  Jacob  and  Wilhelm, 
146 

Guerber,  H.  A.,  192,  209 

Gulliver's  Travels,  157,  200 

Gummere,  Francis  B.,  134 

H\ggard,  Rider,  105 

Hale,    Edward    Everett,    153, 

173,  189,  192,  202,  206 
Hall,  G.  Stanley,  84,  213 
Hall,  Jennie,  152,  199 
Hall,  Sara  Josepha,  143 
Hamlet,  39,  102,  168 
Hanauer,  J.  E.,  214 
Hans  Andersen's  Stories,  147, 

199 
Hans  Brinker,  190,  209 
Hansel  and  Grethel,  147 
Hare  and  the  Tortoise,  The, 

147 
Harris,  Ada   Van  Stone,  203, 

211 
Harris,  Alice  L.,  203 
Harris,     Joel    Chandler,    185, 

206 


Harte,  Bret,  100 
Hats  Oft'!   The  Flag  is  Pass- 
ing By,   164 
Haunter  of  the  Pine   Gloom, 

The,  192 
Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  79,  98, 

106,  164,  201,  205 
Hawthorne's    Wonder     Book, 

152,  181 
Hazard,  Bertha,  204 
He  Did  n't  Think,  145 
He  Prayeth  Well,  155 
Heart  of  Oak  Books,  195, 

197,  210 
Heidi,  190,  208 
Hellenic  Tales,  164,  201 
Hemans,  Felicia,  159 
Henny-Penny,  138 
Henry  Esmond,  100 
Heracles  the  Hero  of  Thebes, 

206 
Hereward  the  W7ake,  109 
Heroes  of  Asgard,  206 
Heroes  of  Iceland,  194,  210 
Hey  Diddle  Diddle,  137 
Hiawatha    Primer,  The,    198, 

204 
Hickory,  Dickory,  Dock,  137 
History    of     Ali    Baba     and 

the     Forty    Thieves,    The, 

154 
History  of  American  Literature, 

A,  166 
Hix,    Melvin,    198,    199,    200, 

201,  202,  203 
Hogg,  James,  145,  165 
Hokey  Pokey,  185 
Holbrook,  Florence,  198,  199, 

204 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  114, 

117,  164,  165,  174 
Homer,  42,  44,  85 


INDEX    OF   TITLES   AND   AUTHORS      221 


Hoosier  School  Boy,  The,  186, 
207 

House  that  Jack  Built,  The, 
138 

How  Sleep  the  Brave,  159 

How  to  Teach  Reading,  84, 
213 

How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Chil- 
dren, 213 

Howells  Story  Book,  The,  183, 
206 

Howells,  W.  D.,  100,  183 

Howitt,  Mary,  150 

Hughes,  Thomas,  191,  209 

Humble  Bee,  The,  171 

Hunt,  Leigh,  164 

Husted,  Mary  Hall,  199 

I  Saw  a  Ship  A-Sailing,  143 
I  saw  an  old  Woman,  137 
Idyls  of  the  King,  The,  39,  86, 

186,  187,  207 
If  I  Were  a  Sunbeam,  150 
Iliad,  The,  156 
In  Darkest  Africa,  45 
Ingelow,  Jean,  146 
Irving,  Washington,   163,  191, 

209 
It    is    a    Beauteous    Evening 

Calm  and  Free,  25 
Ivanhoe,  103,  173,  203 

Jabberwock,  The,  183 

Jack  and  Jill,  137 

Jack  and  the  Bean  Stalk,  144, 

178 
Jack  Frost,  155 
Jack  the  Giant  Killer,  178 
Jackanapes,  182,  205 
Jackson,  Helen  Hunt,  155 
Jacobs,  Joseph,  188,  208 
James,  Henry,  98,  106 


Jan   of  the   Wind    Mill,   182, 

205 
Japanese    Fairy    Tales,     180, 

204 
Jennie  Kissed  Me,  26 
Jock   of   the  Bushveldt,    193, 

209 
John  Anderson,    My   Jo,  26, 

27 
Jones,  Sir  William,  171 
Jordan,  David  Starr,  10 
Jo's  Boys,  208 
Joseph,  150 

Judd,  Mary  Catherine,  204 
Julius  Caesar,  191,  299 
Jungle  Book,  The,  192,  209 

Kalevala,  73 

Keary,  A.  &  E.,  206 

Keats,  John,  36,  48 

Kenilworth,  101,  104,  109 

Kepler,  Johann,  38 

King  Arthur  and  His  Court, 

200 
King  Arthur  and  His  Knights, 

207 
King  Henry  the  Fifth,  24 
King  Lear,  40 
King  of  the  Golden  River,  The, 

156,  200 
King  of  the  Mamozekel,  The, 

192 
Kingsley,  Charles,  84,  150,  159, 

200 
Kingsley's  Greek  Heroes,  85, 

151,  199,  205 
Kipling,    Rudyard,    105,    175, 

192,  209 
Kirk,  Dolly  Williams,  194,  210 
Knight's  Tale,  The,  99 
Krag  and  Johnny  Bear,   183, 

206 


222      INDEX    OF   TITLES    AND    AUTHORS 


Labors  of  Hercules,  The, 

185 
Lady  of  the  Lake,  The,  172, 

202 
Lady  or  the  Tiger,  The,  105 
Lamb,  Charles,  160,  166,  201, 

202 
Lamb,  Mary,  166,  202 
Lamb,  The,  145 
Land  of  Song,  The,  197,  212 
Land    of    Story    Books,    The, 

145 
Landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  The, 

159 
Lareom,  Lucy,  150 
Lark   and   Her   Young  Ones, 

The,  144 
Last  Leaf,  The,  164 
Last   of   the   Mohicans,   The, 

193,  210 
Lead,  Kindly  Light,  174 
Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  The, 

163 
Les  Miserables,  100 
Letters  to  a  Young  Man,  16 
Lights  to  Literature,  195,  211 
Lincoln,    Abraham,    172,    174, 

202 
Literature  in  Life  and  School, 

213 
Literature   in  the   Elementary 

School,  213 
Little  Bo-Peep,  137 
Little  Boy  Blue,  137 
Little  Gustava,  145 
Little  Lame  Prince,  The,  183, 

205 
Little  Men,  208 
Little  Miss  Muffett,  137 
Little  One  Eye,  etc.,  143 
Little  People  of  the  Sycamore, 

The,  192 


Little  Red  Riding  Hood,  143, 

177 
Little  Thumb,  177 
Little  Women,  189,  208 
Litsey,  Edwin  Carlile,  188,  208 
Lobo,    Rag,   and   Vixen,    183, 

206 
Lohengrin,  194 
Lolami  in  Tusayan,  182,  205 
Lolami,      The      Little      Cliff 

Dweller,  181,  205 
London  Bridge,  138 
London,  Jack,  193,  209 
Long,  William  J.,  42 
Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth, 

35,  62,  72,  73,  140,  144,  151, 

155,  159,  161,  165,  171,  199, 

201,  202 
Looking  Backward,  101,  108 
Lord    of    the    Air,    The,    192 
Lorna  Doone,  100 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  42,  155, 

159,  171,  175,  202 

Mabie,  Hamilton  W.,  82,  156, 

181,  200,  205 
Macbeth,  168 
MacClintock,    Porter   Lander, 

213 
Macdonald,  George,  142 
Mackay,  Charles,  150,  163 
McMurry,  Charles,  83,  213 
McMurry,  Lida  B.,  199 
McSpadden,    J.    Walker,    204 
Malory,  Sir  Thomas,  86,  186 
Man  Without  a  Country,  The, 

173,  202 
Marble  Faun,  The,  106 
Marjorie's  Almanac,  150 
Marmion,  190,  208 
Mary  had  a  Little  Lamb,  143 
Master  Singers,  The,  194 


INDEX    OF   TITLES  AND    AUTHORS      223 


Matthews,  Brander,  206 
Maupassant,  Guy  de,  98 
Merchant  of  Venice,  The,  104, 

168,  173,  203 
Mercury,  145 

Merry  Animal  Tales,  180,  204 
Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  A, 

168 
Miller,  Joaquin,  174 
Miller  of  Dee,  The,  150 
Milnes,     Richard     Monckton, 

143 
Milton,  John,  44,  174 
Moore,  Clement  C,  151 
Morley,  John,  15 
Morte  d' Arthur,  Le,  186 
Mother   Goose   Melodies,  133, 

136,  137,  142,  143 
Mother  Hubbard,  139 
Mountain    and    the    Squirrel, 

The,  155 
Mouse  and  the  Lion,  The,  139 
Mulock,  Dinah  Maria,  183,  203, 

205 
Murray,  Clara,  212 
My  Native  Land,  165 
Myths  of  Northern  Lands,  192, 

209 

Nansen,  Fridtjof,  45 
Nature  Myths,  178 
Narcissus,  149 
Neptune,  145 

New  England  Nun,  The,  99 
Newman,  John  Henry,  54,  174 
Newton,  Isaac,  38 
Nicholas  Nickleby,  108 
Nights  with  Uncle  Remus,  206 
Noah's  Ark,  145 
Norse  Stories,  156,  200 
Norton,  Charles  Eliot,  197,  210 
Niirnberg  Stove,  The,  206 


O  Captain  !  My  Captain,  171, 
172,  202 

Old  Ironsides,  114,  116,  165 

Old  King  Cole,  137 

Old  Oaken  Bucket,  155 

Old  Stories  of  the  East, 
199 

Old  Testament  Stories  in  Scrip- 
ture Language,  158,  201 

Old  Woman  and  her  Pig,  The, 
138 

Old  Woman  who  Lived  in  a 
Shoe,  The,  137 

Old  World  Wonder  Stories, 
177,  203 

Ollivant,  Alfred,  192,  209 

On  His  Blindness,  174 

Open  Sesame,  196,  211 

O'Shea,  M.  V.,  198,  203 

Othello,  28,  40,  46 

Ouida,  183,  206 

Owl,  The,  150,  165 

P  arsons,  James  C,  61,  214 

Passing  of  Arthur,  The,  187 

Paradise  Lost,  48 

Paul,  103 

Pease  Porridge  Hot,  137 

Perrault,  Charles,  203 

Perry,  Bliss,  99 

Perseus,  151 

Pierre  et  Jean,  98 

Pig  Brother  and  Other  Fables, 

The,  200 
Pine  Tree,  The,  147 
Piper,  The,  150 
Planting   of  the   Apple   Tree, 

The,  159 
Pleiades,  The,  142 
Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  54,  171,  190, 

208 
Poems  by  Grades,  196,  211 


224      INDEX    OF   TITLES   AND    AUTHORS 


Poems   from   the   Writings   of 

Emerson,  190,  208 
Poems  of  American  Patriotism, 

184,  206 
Polonius'   Advice   to  His  Son 

Laertes,  174 
Pride  and  Prejudice,  109 
Princess  on  the  Pea,  The,  147 
Principles  of  Literary  Criticism, 

16,  213 
Proctor,  Adelaide,  155 
Prodigal  Son,  The,  142 
Prometheus,  149 
Proserpine,  145 
Purloined  Letter,  The,  208 
Puss  in  Boots,  144,  177 
Pyle,  Howard,  162,  201 
Pyrnelle,  L.  C,  184,  206 

Quality  of  Mercy,  The,  174 

Rab  and  His  Friends,   187, 

207 
Race  of  the  Swift,  The,  188,  208 
Radford,  Maud  L.,  207 
Rain  in  Summer,  155 
Rain  is  Raining  All  Around, 

The,  143 
Rainy  Day,  The,  171 
Ray,  Joseph,  14 
Recessional,  The,  175 
Rein,  Wilhelm,  148 
Repplier,  Agnes,  188,  207 
Return  to  the  Trails,  The,  192 
Reynard  the  Fox,  81,  188,  208 
Rhinegold,  The,  194 
Rhodora,  The,  175 
Richards,  Laura  E.,  185,  200, 

206 
Richardson,  Charles  F.,  203 
Rip  Van  Winkle,  163 
Riquet  of  the  Tuft,  177 


Robert        Louis        Stevenson 

Reader,  177,  203 
Roberts,   Charles  G.  D.,  192, 

209 
Robin     Hood,     Some     Merry 

Adventures  of,  162,  201 
Robin  Hood  Tales,  86 
Robinson    Crusoe,    147,    158, 

189,  199,  208 
Robinson  Crusoe  Reader,  199 
Rock-a-By  Lady,  The,  146 
Rolf  and  the  Viking's  Bow,  189, 

208 
Rolfe,  William  J.,  203,  209 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  168 
Romola,  108 
Rose  and  the  Ring,  The,  186, 

207 
Rossetti,  Christina,  143 
Round  the  Year  in  Myth  and 

Song,  198,  199 
Rub-a-dub-dub,  137 
Rumpelstiltskin,  147 
Ruskin,  John,  10,  20,  54,  156 

Sainte-Beuve,  Charles  Au- 

gustin,  15 
Samson,  150 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  14,  48,  79,  97, 

100,  106,  165,  172,  173,  190, 

202,  203,  208 
Scudder,  Horace  E.,  198 
Sea,  The,  155 
Sella,  168,  202 
September,  155 
Seven  Little  Sisters,  181,  205 
Seven  Times  One,  146 
Shadow,  My,  145 
Shakespeare,    William,   2,    14, 

28,  40,  42,  44,  46,  87,  155, 

156,  159,  165,  170,  171,  173, 

174 


INDEX    OF    TITLES    AND    AUTHORS      225 


She,  105 

She  Was  a  Phantom  of  Delight, 

175 
Shell,  The,  165 
Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe,  54 
Sherman,  Frank  Dempster,  142 
Shute,  Katharine  H.,  212 
Siegfried,  194 
Silas  Marner,  89,  101,  109 
Simple  Simon,  137 
Sinbad  the  Sailor,  153 
Sing  a  Song  of  Sixpence,  134, 

137 
Six  Nursery  Classics,  198 
Six    Selections    from    Irving's 

Sketch  Book,  163,  201 
Skylark,  The,  165 
Sleep,  Baby,  Sleep,  143 
Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Wood, 

The,  144,  177 
Snowbound,  161,  174,  201 
Snowstorm,  The,  165 
Snow- White     and     Rose-Red, 

146 
Sohrab  and  Rustum,  170,  202 
Some    Merry    Adventures    of 

Robin  Hood,  162,  201 
Song  of   Hiawatha,   The,   62, 

140,  144,  151,  199 
Song  of  Roland,  The,  86 
Song  of  the  Brook,  The,  175 
Songs  of  Labor,  161 
Southey,  Robert,  159 
Special    Method    in   Reading, 

84 
Special    Method    in    Reading 

English  Classics,  213 
Spenser,  Edmund,  86 
Spider  and  the  Fly,  The,  150 
Sprague,  Homer  B.,  201 
Spyri,  Frau  Johanna,  190,  208 
Stanley,  Henry  M.,  45 


Stay,  Stay  at  Home,  My  Heart, 

159 
Stedman,  Clarence  E.,  55 
Stevenson,  Robert  Louis,  102, 

143,  145,  177,  179,  193,  204, 

210 
Stockton,  Francis  R.,  105 
Stories     from      the     Arabian 

Nights,  200 
Stories  of  Wagner  Operas  Told 

for  Children,  193,  210 
Stories  to  Tell  to  Children,  214 
Story  of  Aladdin,  The,  154 
Story  of  Burnt  Njal,  194 
Story  of  Roland,  The,  187,  207 
Story  of  Siegfried,   The,   187, 

207 
Story   of   Sindbad   the   Sailor, 

The,  154 
Story  of  the  Iliad,  The,  187,  207 
Story  of  the  Odyssey,  The,  187, 

207 
Story  of  Ulysses,  The,  181,  205 
Stowe,   Harriet   Beecher,    191, 

209 
Succession  of  Forest  Trees  and 

Wild  Apples,  The,  207 
Sweet  and  Low,  143 
Swift,  Jonathan,  157,  200 

Tales  from  Shakespeare, 
166,  202 

Tales  of  Mother  Goose,  The, 
177,  203 

Tales  of  the  White  Hills,  164, 
201 

Tales  of  Troy,  The,  156,  200 

Tales  Told  in  Palestine,   214 

Talks  on  Teaching  Literature, 
136,  213 

Talks  on  the  Study  of  Liter- 
ature, 213 


15 


22G       INDEX    OF   TITLES   AND    AUTHORS 


Taylor,  Jane,  143,  151 
Teaching  of  English,  The,  213 
Tennyson,  Alfred,  44,  48,  86, 

143,  150,  165,  171,  174,  186 

207 
Tetlow,  John,  199 
Thackeray,     William     Make- 
peace, 186,  207 
Thanatopsis,    168,    202 
Thaxter,  Celia,  145 
There  Was  a  Crooked  Man, 

137 
There    Was    a    Man    in  Our 

Town,  137 
There  Was  a  Sound  of  Revelry, 

171 
Theseus,  151 
Thompson-Seton,   Ernest,   42, 

183,  206 
Thoreau,   Henry   David,    188, 

207 
Three  Bears,  The,  139,  198 
Three  Fishers,  The,  159 
Three  Years  With  the  Poets, 

179,  204 
Through   the   Looking   Glass, 

183,  206 
Tileston,  Mary  W.,  194,   197, 

210 
To  a  Fringed  Gentian,  159 
To  a  Mouse,  171 
To  a  Skylark,  165 
Tom    Brown's    School    Days, 

191,  209 
Tom  He  Was  a  Piper's  Son, 

137 
Tom  Thumb,  80,  144,  178 
Tortoise  and  the  Hare,  The, 

139 
Traveller,  the  Cook,  and   the 

Little  Old   Man,   The,    185 
Treasure  Island,  102,  193,  210 


Trowbridge,  J.  T.,  150 

Twelfth  Night,  168 

Twinkle,  Twinkle,  Little  Star, 

143 
Two  Years  Before  the  Mast, 

45,  190,  209 

Ugly  Duckling,  The,  147 
Ulysses,  97 
Uncle  Remus,  185 
Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  191,  209 
Under   the   Greenwood   Tree, 
159 

Vanity  Fair,  108 

Verne,  Jules,  97 

Vergil,  85 

Viking  Tales,  152,  199 

Violet,  The,  151 

Vision    of   Sir   Launfal,    The, 

171,  202 
Visit  from  St.  Nicholas,  A,  151 
Vulcan,  148 

Wagner,  Richard,  86 
Wakefield,  98 
Walkyries,  The,  194 
Walrus    and     the     Carpenter, 

The,  183 
Warner,  Charles  Dudley,  188, 

207 
Watchers  of  the  Campfire,  The, 

192 
Webster,  Daniel,  174 
Wendell,  Barrett,  4 
What  Constitutes  a  State,  171 
What  is  so  Rare  as  a  Day  in 

June,  175 
What  the  Birds  Say,  146 
Wheelock,  Elizabeth  M.,  193, 

210 
White  Cat,  The,  144 


INDEX    OF    TITLES    AND    AUTHORS      227 


Whitman,  Walt,  171,  172,  202 
Whittier,  John  Greenleaf,  155, 

162,  174,  201 
Whittington  and  His  Cat,  177 
Who  Has  Seen  the  Wind,  143 
Wide  Awake  Series,  The,  196, 

212 
Wiggin,    Kate    Douglas,    188, 

207 
Wild  Ass's  Skin,  The,  104 
Wilkins-Freeman,     Mary     E., 

99 
Williams,  Sherman,  211 
Williston,  Theresa  Peirce,  204 
Wilson,  Calvin  Dill,  202 
Winchester,  C.  T.,  15,  37,  45, 

111,  213 
Wind,  The,  143 


Wind  and  the  Sun,  The,  144 
Winter,  171 

With  Spurs  of  Gold,  194,  210 
Wolf  and  the  Lamb,  The,  144 
Woman   in   White,   The,    100 
Wonder  Book,  A,  205 
Wonderful  Chair  and  the  Tales 

it  Told,  The,  180,  205 
Woodberry,  George  E.,  14 
Woodworth,  Samuel,  155 
Wordsworth,   William,  25,   37 

44,  47,  52,  56,  155,  165,  175 
World  Wants  Men,  The,  159 

Year's  at  the  Spring,  The, 

171 
You  are  old,  Father  William, 

159 


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